


Five Days

by ohhipstaplease



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Harry Styles in Love, Hiatus, One Direction Hiatus, Post-One Direction, Slow Burn, Solo Artist Harry Styles, This is just one long joke about that one week Harry was the host on the James Corden show, a little bit of smut, but when that fire is lit ITS LIT, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:47:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28450386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohhipstaplease/pseuds/ohhipstaplease
Summary: "What's the worst that could possibly happen? It's only five days."As head assistant to late-night talk show host James Corden, Alicia Mendez has dealt with her fair share of obnoxious celebrities. So when renowned boy band member Harry Styles is announced as a week-long guest in honor of his solo debut, she wants absolutely nothing to do with him. Unfortunately, he's exactly who she's stuck with for the next five days.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

It started like any other day. Alicia took no notice of the fact that her colleagues were running around a bit more frantically, nor that somebody had sworn loudly in the break room because their shaky hands had dropped the new coffee pot. No, she was mentally preparing herself to finally pitch an idea at the weekly meeting.

"You can do this." She said to herself as she flipped through her folder once more, "You're his right-hand man for christ's sake. He adores you."

Alicia Mendez had been working with James for the past three years. In those three years he had gone from Mr. Corden to James, and from frightening boss to the obvious teddy bear. James and his family had opened their home to her, and on various occasions had shown that she was much more than merely an assistant. And that was just fine with her considering that she had moved to LA alone to take the job.

So it was stupid of her to think he would shut down her pitch, wasn't it? She knew that she had to have more confidence in herself. That whole, "fake it til you make it real" and everything. But after spending the past five months trying to pitch an idea, she knew that she had to actually try to speak during meetings instead of just being the designated note-taker. She wasn't supposed to be an assistant forever, right?

"Alicia."

"Yes?"

Her head popped up and she felt her glass slide down upon her nose. She pushed them back up in one swoop as she closed the folder with her other hand.

James smiled at her from the doorway, "Mornin', darling. Talking to ourselves again, are we?" He asked in his now more slightly Americanized British accent.

Alicia flushed, "N-no."

"It's not a bad thing, heard it's a marker of intelligence or something like that."

"Yeah, okay." She said, rolling her eyes as she collected both her folder and the one James had her prepare last night."We should get going."

"Did you take a look at the guest star for this week?"

"Oh, no. I just printed out all of the things you-"

"Good. Great. It'll be a surprise for you at least."  
James said as clapped his hands. He looked incredibly elated. She had only seen him get that way because of a celebrity guest a few times before.

"What do you mean?"

"Some bugger in the media department found out and told everyone my surprise. It's a wonder you haven't heard, really." He said, furrowing his blonde brows as his steps quickened. Alicia tried to match his steps, but her heels had her at a slight disadvantage.

"Is it really that big a deal?"

James stopped in his tracks and turned to face her,

"It's huge, Ali. Huge."

Alicia tilted her head, knowing full well that she could care less who in the hell it was that was coming. She was just a tad taken aback that James clearly wanted her to care as much as he did. He knew full well that was not about to happen. If he wanted to see people get excited over his planned guest appearances he would have to settle for whoever broke the new coffeepot or Lorraine or Milo from PR. They were obviously the only two who, no matter what happened, would continue to worship celebrities as if they were some kind of idols.

As the girl who had to directly deal with the talent, Alicia was no longer particularly starstruck. Her encounters with celebrities had quickly shown her that Hollywood wasn't all it was made up to be. From throwing a milkshake at Justin Bieber's head because he actually had the gall to tell her that she had taken too long at the drive-through, and then proceeded to try to pat her on the behind, to "accidentally" spilling juice on Ariana Grande's Versace dress after she had pointedly told James that he should hire new help, Alicia was probably the last person that would shriek over a guest announcement. But James just didn't seem to get that, even considering her history, go figure.

"I'm serious, we've never done anything like this before." He murmured as they got closer to the main conference room. She could already see that everyone was in their seats through the large windows.

"Alright." James said the moment he walked into the room, clapping his hands again as he tended to do when he had a great deal of nervous energy to exert, "I'm sure we've all heard," He began, his voice booming in the large room.

Alicia quickly grabbed her seat, placing both folders in front of her. Before placing James' in his usual spot to her right at the head of the table, she took a glance at the guest appearance slots for the week. Every single one of the 5 slots had one name next to the Harry Styles.

"For the love of God." She said a little too loudly.  
James turned to look at her with a confused look upon his face as he was clearly in the midst of his empowering speech.

She waved for him to continue, ignoring all of the pointed glares now coming at her in all directions.  
Alicia simply could not believe that James was excited about having that pompous boy bander for an entire week. What could a boy like Harry Styles possibly do all week in the first place? Judging by his infuriatingly slow drawl it would take the whole show for him to read off of a cue card. James must have been losing it.

She recalled the first time she had met him, and the various other times that they had encountered each other. Every time the English pop star refused to acknowledge her. James believed they would be natural friends, thought that they had similar personalities. Alicia couldn't disagree more.  
Whereas Harry was incredibly obnoxious and loud when around James and his family, Alicia was more of a quiet observer. Of course, she laughed at jokes and cracked her own, but she never thought it becoming to demand the attention of the entire room at every second. Harry was just too used to being in the spotlight, though it should be on him at all times.

Okay, so they hadn't even said two words to each other, and the last time they had met he was going through some weird-ass phase where he was on a cleanse for most of the time he was in LA and refused to wear deodorant because it was "just another harmful chemical that we were forced to use on our bodies because of backward societal constructs". Maybe he had changed. But, then again, when do celebrities ever change for the better?  
Alicia just couldn't focus on James' words, all she kept plotting was how she would get out of waiting on hand and foot on Harry Styles. The last thing she wanted to do was drive an hour every day to get those stupid juices for him again because "They have to be from Maddie's shop in Malibu, she's the only one who makes them the right way." She could already hear his ridiculously slow drawl asking her to pass the fruit bowl. She was not going to allow James to push her into-

"And Alicia will be Harry's personal assistant for the entirety of the week. As my right-hand woman, I know that she'll take care of him as well as she takes care of me."

Alicia couldn't even form words. Alicia looked at James, hoping it was some cruel joke. She felt Milo shift beside her, his hand raising as he quickly argued, "She knows absolutely nothing about Harry or his campaign. How could she possibly be of any help!? Do you even know the name of his album? That he was even going solo?"

Alicia turned to look at him with a terribly uninterested look upon her face, clearly giving him the answer he was expecting.

"See! She doesn't know the first thing about him!"

"Milo, please. Calm down" Lorraine said, pushing strands of her fiery hair back from her face as she confidently pleaded her case, "As the heads of PR it would be optimal for Milo and me to take care of Mr. Styles of the week. We can prep him for his interviews, segments, and teach him how to interview the other guests that are coming on the show. Isn't that what you want?" Of the two she was clearly the most poised, probably the one things Alicia envied about her.

"I need you both taking care of social media, that's your job and that's where I need you. It's a big week. You'll be working with Harry's team as well, we've never done anything like this before. Anyways, Alicia is more than qualified to handle Harry on her own. Not that he's much to handle in the first place, kind lad." He said, a warm smile sprawling upon his face, "And I know that she'll treat him as family, just as she would treat any of my very close friends."

Alicia couldn't even look James in the eye, she was too furious. Milo though missed no chance to argue, "I would treat him as family, no problem."

"No, you'd treat him like a piece of meat." Bradley, one of the junior producers, said from the other end of the table.

Milo feigned shock, "Me? Excuse you, I am a professional."

"I saw you talking to a picture of him last week."

"That wasn't what-"

"It was framed on your desk."

The room erupted into laughter, but Alicia just didn't find the humor in it.

Milo didn't let it phase him though, he quickly rebutted, "We're really going to let the girl who drenched Justin Bieber from head to toe in strawberry milkshake take care of Harry Styles!?"

"He's got a point." Alicia said, shrugging, "Who knows, I might dump that obnoxious kale smoothie he drinks on his curly head."

"Alicia," James said, giving her a firm look.

Milo gasped, Lorraine simply shook her head. The others looked on with clear interest, this was probably one of the most interesting meetings they've ever had. And technically, it hadn't even begun yet.

"I'm just saying." Alicia continued, leaning back in her seat, "If Milo and Lorraine want to take care of him, I have no problems with it." She tried, she really did, "Anyways, I still have to take care of the other guests this week."

"No, no, I will be taking care of them."

"Then why don't you take care of Harry?"

"Are you seriously fighting with me during a staff meeting?"

Alicia sighed and rubbed her temples, "Fine. I'll take care of the overgrown hippie child."

"That's the spirit." James said cheerily, clearly trying to get her spirits up, "What's the worst that can happen? It's only five days."

She knew that in a few months she'd be laughing about the whole thing with her best friend Clara and her mom and brother, but all she could keep thinking about was the fact that she was finally ready to pitch an idea, but no, instead she was being passed down to Harry Styles as his personal servant for the week.

"Alright, let's get this meeting started then," James said, grabbing the folder that Alicia had dutifully prepared last night for him.

Meanwhile, the one she had prepared for herself with the notes for her first pitch, she quickly hid under her notebook. There was no use in speaking up now, her role was clear. She was the assistant, nothing more.  
\---  
As he drove onto a lot of Studio 65, Harry felt a wave of nostalgia hit him fiercely. There were moments when he truly felt the absences of the other four boys, and this was without a doubt one of them. While he was getting used to the feeling of being a solo artist, there was still something incredibly peculiar about performing on shows that he had a history with. That he and his former band had performed on.

The last time that he had been on the show was a strange day. Zayn had just announced his departure, Lou was out of sorts, and Liam had just broken up with his girlfriend. Harry didn't quite recall what was bothering him, but he was sure it was the vibe they were giving off. They weren't a united front anymore, and it showed.

It made sense that he didn't recognize any of his surroundings, he didn't really take them into account that previous time. In fact, it was as if this was his first time here. And maybe, it was better this way.

He didn't even finish packing his Range Rover before he spotted James running towards his car. The older, portly, man ran towards him chuckling. Harry couldn't help but jump out of his car and open his arms to welcome James into his embrace. The two hugged for what seemed like perhaps an inappropriate amount of time for two men, but they didn't care. In fact, if Harry hadn't have heard the pointed cough in the background, he might have never have broken the warm embrace with his dear friend.

"Ah, right. Yes." James said, adjusting his suit jacket and tie. His eyes crinkled at the corners from the width of his smile, "Harry, I'm so glad you've come."

Harry grinned, "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Thanks for having me, mate. You'll be dying to get rid of me within a week though, so don't thank me just yet."

"You wanker, no one is thanking you," James responded, clasping a hand on Harry's shoulder. The two still ignoring the small girl with the large clipboard and equally as sizable thick-rimmed glasses.

Harry looked over at her discreetly, not quite being able to place her. James had mentioned her over the phone, said they had met before. But honestly, he just didn't remember her.

"Right, well, this is Alicia," James said, leading Harry over to his new assistant for the week. Alicia shifted uncomfortably as she extended her hand. James looked at her and smiled a little bit more forcibly, almost as if pleading with her to mimic him.

She smiled, unwillingly, as she said, "Nice to formally meet you, Mr. Styles."

"We've met?" Harry said, as his hand grasped hers. And then he remembered, "Oh shit, you were the tiny thing that Lou made get my juices and run our errands."

"That's right." She responded, nodding stupidly with that overly fake smile still plastered upon her face, "That's me."

"Well, clearly not anymore, love. You look all the part of a Hollywood assistant."

"Yes." She said, adjusting her glasses, "How lovely to look the part I'll always be playing."

James cleared his throat and quickly said, "You two met so long ago, and it was just in passing wasn't it?"

"With the other boys," Harry added.

"It was almost a lifetime ago. I'm sure you've both become completely different people since then."  
Harry felt his face flush, he knew that this girl didn't like him. He couldn't blame her. He was a different person with the boys, someone he wasn't always particularly proud of. He knew that James was trying to defend him, peg his previous disregard of Alicia on his teenage ways. But that was no excuse, not even close.

"Right. Well. We have a busy day, so if we want to keep on schedule..." Alicia said tapping at the clearly marked piece of paper on her clipboard.

"Right, right." James said, "Duh." He added while shaking his head in faux disbelief, "I'm sorry for the hold-up. I'll catch up with you soon, Harry. I'm leaving you in the best of hands. I promise."

"I don't doubt it," Harry replied, looking straight at Alicia, trying to show her that he was being genuine.  
She promptly ignored him.

"Have a good day you two, and Alicia give Harry a tour. It's been a while since he's been here."

Alicia grimaced, "Yeah, yeah. Get a move on or you'll be late for filming again."

Harry chuckled, "He lets you talk to him like that?"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye before turning around and marching back towards the studio, "I'm his assistant. We're pretty close."

"So are we."  
"I know."

"So why haven't we ever-"

"Gotten to know each other?"

"Yeah."

She turned around and glared at him, "Probably because I'm just the assistant."

Harry quickly shook his head, "No, no. I didn't mean it like that."

Alicia smiled disdainfully, "I'm sure you didn't. Come on now, I have to get you to your dressing room before your first meeting."

Harry felt like a bloody idiot. He should have known that when Corden had insisted on giving him his personal assistant for the week he should have said no. The last thing this girl clearly wanted was to be stuck with him all week. And he couldn't blame her.  
He watched her walk in front of him, one tiny step after another, in the small corridor that led to his now ridiculously large dressing room. It was the same one he and the boys had been in previously, but with three fewer people to share it with, it almost seemed empty.

Alicia stood in the doorway as Harry looked around. He smiled when he saw the bowl of at least three bunches of bananas and the pre-bottles green juices.

"You remembered."

"How could I forget?" She sighed.

"For such little time we spent together, you sure do remember a lot about me." He said playfully. 

Alicia didn't reciprocate, "You're meeting is right down the hall. Room 453"

"You're not taking me?"

"I have other things to do."

"I thought your schedule was cleared so you could just-"

"Be yours for the week?" She said, her hand coming up to her hip in a defiant pose. She looked about 6 inches taller with just the tilt of her hips.

"No, no, I just-"

"Listen, Harry," She said, stepping into the dressing room and closing the door behind her, "I know you're not used to people not liking you, but unfortunately you'll have to deal with my indifference for the week."

"Jeez," He muttered, daring to take a step closer to her. He could see her brow furrow immediately from the proximity to him, "You know, I'm not the same kid you met before. Just as I know you're not the same girl."

She nodded, "Well, you're right," Alicia leaned in close enough for Harry to gain a blush in his cheeks. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her tan skin, and could smell the coconut from her hair. The last thing he expected was for her to do was take an obnoxious whiff right above Harry's right shoulder and say, "You've finally learned the importance of wearing deodorant."

He had to stop himself from chuckling, knew that she was trying to stand her ground. But now he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, this week might end up being fun for the both of them.

\---  
"Show's in ten," Milo yelled from his corner office down the hallway.  
Alicia simply rolled her eyes and continued typing away. While today was not the day she got to pitch an idea for a segment, another chance would surely come along. And when it did, she would be prepared.  
"Where is he?"

She looked up to find the annoying high-pitched voice to belong to no one other than Milo. He had been hovering over her all day, hoping to catch Harry's attention. He hadn't, clearly.

"He's with James? Why would he be with me if it's ten minutes before the show?"

"Aren't you his right hand this week?" Milo made an obscene gesture with his own hand and Alicia had to resist the urge to throw her stapler at him.

"Jealous much?" She said, raising her eyebrows, shutting her laptop, and preparing to go to the stage. Milo didn't get the hint though and remained in the same spot.

"At least I got here on my own merits, honey." He said smilingly, almost as if they were having a chat over tea, "Not because of a favor someone owed my mommy."

Before she could even formulate a response he was gone. He had gotten in his jab at her for the day, surely he'd be back tomorrow with the next one.  
She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself when she heard James mumble, "Why in the hell are you not out on the stage yet?"

"Why aren't you there?" She retorted.

"The show doesn't start without me. And I'm not starting the show without you."

"Since when does it matter if I'm there or not!?"

"Since you promised me you'd take care of Harry."

"What kind of taking care does he even need, this is ridiculous, James." She said as she tried to hurriedly follow him down the corridor and up the flight of stairs. She was surprised he wasn't out of breath and she was nearly heaving.

"We all need family when we go out into the world alone for the first time, you should know that more than anyone." He said, his cerulean eyes going as soft as his voice.

Alicia gave in, "Fine." She hated being blackmailed into being a good person.

\---  
Okay, so maybe she didn't give Harry enough credit. He was able to read his cue cards flawlessly, sometimes he didn't even need them. But the true test would be the live performance. Would he have the stamina to sing after a whole hour of entertaining?

She watched from the side of the stage as Harry grasped the microphone, his assortment of silver rings all glinting haphazardly from the spotlight directly above him. While Alicia didn't want him to fail, she could almost see the anxiety coursing through him. He emanated a tumultuous mixture of nervous energy that seemed to make her own stomach flip flop in sympathy.

As the lights dimmed and the piano began to play, she could see something switch on in him, and the moment he began to sing, it all washed away. His eyes turned a darker shade of green, she could see it even from the other side of the stage. His once taut body began to loosen, his hands carrying the rhythm and his feet stomping along with the melody. His voice carried throughout the space, a deep and soulful sound that transformed the world around him. And when he hit that chorus? Oh god, it was euphoric. The piano and guitar and drums all seamlessly clashed together with his raspy but just as equally smooth voice and Alicia almost melted.  
She never melted.

Harry was by no means the best live performer, who was? He missed a note or two, made it apparent by a slight grimace accompanied by a tightening of his fist around the microphone stand.

But it was of no matter. The song was haunting. It made Alicia yearn for starry nights and late-night drives on the clear high way. It made her wish for her father and mother and for everything she never wanted to admit to herself she missed. And she thought that maybe, Harry felt the same.  
Embarrassingly enough she was the first one on her feet when he finished, clapping wildly. It was out of character, that was for certain. Even James was laughingly looking at her as he applauded for his dear friend. Harry hadn't looked up though, didn't dare to. Perhaps it was the adrenaline still running through his veins. But when he finally did, her heart began to palpitate a bit faster. He looked up to meet her gaze, smiling sheepishly as he realized that she had stood up along with the rest of the audience. He nodded slightly, almost as if thanking her for seeing him through the roughest part of the night.

She had never heard the song before, even as much as everyone raved about it. But god was she glad she had avoided listening to it until now.

\---  
Alicia didn't say anything as she knocked on his dressing room door, simply opened it after a second, and stuck her head in. He turned to look at her, a look she couldn't quite decipher upon his face.

"Bowie?" She asked.

He nodded, "Bowie."

She smirked, "See you tomorrow, Styles."

They didn't need to say anything else, it was enough. For now, they had reached at least a middle ground.  
Alicia pulled out her phone and without a second of reluctance downloaded Harry's single. As soon as it downloaded and she was safely back in the confines of her office, she placed her earbuds in and let the music drown the world out. It was stuck in her head. What else could she do? The kid was actually pretty good. But she would never let him or James know that. No, she knew better.

\---  
"Great job, mate," James said, clasping Harry's shoulder once more as they met in the parking lot. Harry was going to spend the week at James', as he was accustomed to doing whenever he came to see him.

"Thanks." He said, bashfully.

"Don't get humble, you killed it, H."

"Alright, alright."

"Did you see Ali? I've never seen her give anyone a standing ovation."

"Oh? I didn't notice." He said, placing his bag in the back of James' car.

"I saw you smiling at her."

"Oh, please. You always see what you want, mate."

"Alright." James said, obviously not letting it go, "I'm just saying. You two should get to know each other."

"Right. Playing matchmaker again? How did that fare for you last time?"

"Wasn't my fault Niall doesn't have any table manners, the poor girl was traumatized by him. Can't order steak anymore, just imagines it all bloodied and half-chewed."

"Vile," Harry remarked.

"But he's not you and she's not Ali."

"Ali is your assistant."

"But she's nothing to you."

"Technically she's my assistant." Harry tried.

"For the week."

"And after that week I'm back to England, so what's your point?"

"Alright." James said, throwing his hands up in the air, "I give up."

"Good. Let it go."

"Okay."

"James."

"I said I was letting it go."

Harry knew he was in fact not letting it go. But it was of no matter, Alicia would never be interested in him, she had made that clear. At best they would come to an understanding by the end of the week.  
But that smile she had given him, the sight of her applauding him. It sure was something.

"So, what do you want to eat for dinner?" James asked.

"Anything's fine. I'm not very peckish."

Harry laid back and closed his eyes in the dark cab of the car. He still had a long week ahead of him, after all, it was only day one.


	2. Chapter 2

So Harry had made it through his first day and Alicia didn't particularly feel like pulling her hair out. She called that beginner's luck. Ultimately, today would be the real test—for both of them.

Alicia sighed as she looked through James' monologue. Wondering how many times he rewrote it just to make sure Harry was comfortable. She could see eraser marks, knew that he probably would still edit it throughout the day. She read through it and found it quite comical, as it always was, but she understood his apprehension.

It's one thing to be the guest, it's a completely different ball game to be the host. James had never had a co-host, never mind someone that he was so close to. Alicia just didn't understand why he was so worried about him. As if Harry was really some poor soul who didn't know how to make his way in the world. He knew very well what he was doing and why he was doing it. She didn't buy into his sheepishness as everyone else did.

But, okay, she could maybe see why Harry's nervous about his week-long residency. Although he was the co-host, he was still a major component of the show. She could tell he was working himself into a fit about it, even though he would never admit it. She found it funny, really. Harry always loved being the center of attention, how could this job not be made for him?

"Knock, knock"

Alicia looked up to find James with a cupholder filled with coffee. Right behind him was a rather sleepy-looking Harry, holding a full cupholder as well.

"Since when do you get here before eight?" Alicia asked, eyeing the venti iced coffee that she so clearly needed to deal with the day before her. She knew it had her name on it, just knew it. But then again, Harry was the one holding it. There was no way he knew her coffee order. Okay, actually, there was no way he knew anything about her, considering he didn't even remember meeting all those years ago.

"Couldn't sleep." James said, smiling widely, "Too excited."

"Indeed he was," Harry said shaking his head drowsily.

"Julia was none too pleased, was she?" Alicia asked knowingly.

"Kicked us out of the house at seven. Seven, Alicia." Harry muttered, placing the cupholder on the edge of her desk, "Didn't even let me grab a fucking banana."

"The travesty."

"Bloody ridiculous. I stayed up all night listening to this crackpot prattle on about his monologue-"

"Our monologue." James reminded him.

"Whatever." He said with the wave of a hand, "Anyways, I stay up half the night, and I can't even sleep in. Even though the show isn't for another, what? Twelve hours?" Harry said, picking the coveted venti iced coffee out of his cupholder and placing it right before Alicia as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"We have to prep," James argued.

"For twelve bloody hours, mate?" Harry responded indignantly.

Alicia paid no mind to them though. Instead, she blinked twice, looking at the cup before her. There was no way Harry just did that, "Is this for me?"

"What?" Harry asked, clearly thrown off by her aloofness, "Didn't I just put it in front of you?"

"Why?"

"Why?" Harry asked, not quite understanding.

"Why did you get me coffee?"

"Why not?"

Alicia eyed him, "How did you even-"

"I know more about you than you think," Harry said, winking as he placed a few napkins before her.

"You told him, didn't you," Alicia said flatly to James.

"Oh, dear, look at the time," James said looking at his wrist.

"Mate, you're not even wearing a watch," Harry said, chuckling as he looked at Alicia.

She actually smiled at Harry, shaking her head, "Just go, James. Go make your rounds and then finish this monologue." She said, holding up the folder.

"It's finished."

"Is it?"

James nodded, "You're quite right. Needs a bit of polish." He grabs it from her and walks out the door, yelling behind him, "Behave you two."

Alicia rolled her eyes, but Harry just laughed.   
"Shouldn't you be following him? I'm sure those coffees were meant for someone else." She said, eyeing his still full tray.

"Yeah, for me."

"You don't drink coffee." She blushed when she realized what she said, and what it could imply. You know, that she actually was something more than indifferent towards him.

"I don't?" He asked, clearly intrigued.

"You didn't the last time I saw you." She replied quickly.

"That was two years ago."

"Yeah, you keep making that point, Ali."

She looked at him, "Ali?"

"What, I can't call you Ali?" He asked in his charming slow drawl.

"No."  
"What can I call you then?"

"Alicia."

"I think we're on better terms than that."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, if we know each other's coffee preferences I don't think there's any need for such formality. It hinders the development of a professional relationship."

"That makes no sense. How could staying professional ruin a professional relationship."

"You call James by his first name and talk to him as if you were his boss." He pointed out as he sat down on the edge of her desk.

She glared at him pointedly, but he paid no mind. Alicia took a sip of her coffee, hoping it would calm her, "That's different." She replied in an even voice, hoping that Harry would get the hint that she just was in no mood to put up with his irrelevant chatter.

Clearly, he didn't as he quickly replied, "How?"

Alicia sighed loudly, "Get out of my office."

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Don't know how to get back to my dressing room."He smiled as he took a sip from his coffee cup. Alicia saw the string from the teabag brush his lips as he tipped the cup towards him. He clearly took note of her watching him, and smirked. "Earl grey is rather good in the morning. You wouldn't know though, since you hate tea and all."

She glared at him, "Maybe I've changed. Maybe I like tea in the morning now."

"Oh?" He grabbed her coffee and quickly switches it out for one of his own coffee cups.

Alicia frowns, "Give it back."

"I thought you said that you—" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Alicia grabbed her coffee cup back from him and in one motion pushed him off the edge of her desk.

Harry looked at Alicia, clearly taken aback. He didn't know whether to laugh or what. All he could do was look at her while she carefully brought her treasured cup to her lips.

"Don't ever think about messing with my coffee again." She said, glaring at him once more. Clearly, he noted, all she could do was glare at him.

He lifted his hands in defeat, "Alright, alright"

"Just get out." She said in an exasperated tone.  
Harry grabbed his cupholder and made his way to the door. He was finally about to step out when he just stopped. He stood there for a good four seconds.

"What?" Alicia asked.

"I really have no idea where my dressing room is." He admitted without turning around.

"For the love of God." She said, rubbing her temples. It was only 8:05 AM.

\---  
By about two in the afternoon Alicia had managed to shove Harry off on another, all too willing, junior assistant who had been following them around all morning. Harry had to go practice some bit with James to work out the kinks, and who better to make sure they didn't kill themselves than a junior assistant that was scared shitless of James and so in awe of Harry she might faint if he even looks at her.  
But then, that was no longer any of Alicia's concern. For the rest of the day she was finally free to do her own work. That is until James found some other thing he wanted her to do for Harry.

She simply did not understand what James' obsession was with them getting along. It wasn't going to happen, so why push it?

Alicia sighed and stretched her arms above her head, trying to calm herself down. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating at the thought of Harry, knew it was the anger that he arose in her that made her body react that way. There just couldn't be any other explanation.

She closed her eyes and counted to ten, hoping that by the time she got to five she would have finally gotten her hands to stop shaking.

She didn't even get to three though before she heard Milo's annoying voice say, "You're needed on the main stage."

"Oh god." She said as she opened her eyes.

"And can you please keep your phone on, I'm not your assistant?" He said pointedly.

"It's not like you do much else here," Alicia muttered.

"What was that?" He asked, hazel eyes squinting at her as she quickly gathered her things and shoved them in her oversized bag.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Have to be off now." She said, her heels clicking as she quickly made her way out of her office.

"This better be important." She said to herself as she shook her head.  
\---  
"The name of the game is Human Basketball Hoop" James announced from the middle of the stage. Or, rather, "court".

"Oh lord," Alicia said, shaking her head as she watched crew members turn James into an actual, living, basketball hoop.

"I quite like the idea," Harry said, watching as well from the second row of seats. He had his feet up on the seats before him and looked rather comfortable, "It's fresh."

"You're actually going along with this?"

"Why not? Can't be worse than that spill your guts shit."

James laughed remembering that the last Harry had been one he had to drink a cup of salmon juice. How James had even found salmon juice, Alicia did not want to know.

"How are you going to top this during the week? Can't you at least move it to another day?"

"Can't, Shaq is the guest star tonight," James said, lowering his head so the hoop could be affixed properly.

"So you're going to have Shaquille O'Neal play basketball. Groundbreaking." Alicia remarked.

"Be nice," James warned.

"You want to get ratings? You should have Harry be the hoop."

"Can't, bruise like a peach." Harry shrugged as he peeled a banana.

"Says the human sketchbook."

Harry smirked and chewed his fruit contently.

"Now, now. I'm the hoop, bloody terrible at sports anyway. And nothing better than to see young Harry attempt to beat a famous basketball player at his own game."

Harry shrugged, "It's not about winning—"

Alicia smirked, "It's about hitting the bullseye."

"What bullseye?" Harry asked, "Don't you mean basket?"

Alicia laughed as she picked up an adhesive bullseye that one of the props people must have left behind. She stuck it directly upon James' stomach.

James frowned, "Oh come on now."

Harry got up, threw his peel into the nearby wastebasket, and rushed upon the stage, "Alicia, if you're going to do something, you've got to do it right."

"He's all yours." She said, stepping aside.

"Oh come now, mate. Isn't it enough I'm taking one for the team here?

"Didn't you say I was in charge this week?"

Alicia's brow furrowed, "What?"

James turned to look at her, "That's not what I meant."

"That's not what it sounded like," Harry said, his lips in a full pout now.

Alicia shook her head, but both men ignored her. Instead, Harry ripped the bullseye off of the bodysuit James was wearing and stuck it directly onto the large man's crotch.

"Oi! There is no way in—"

"I'm in charge." Harry shrugged, "Remember?"

"Alicia he can't—"

"Oh no you don't," She answered pointedly, "Technically I'm not your assistant this week, you lent me to him, remember?"

"Hey!' James said frowning at her.

Harry turned to look at the crew members and nodded, "Set him up, boys."

"What! No!"

But James wasn't able to say anything else before he was propelled up into the air by a large rope and three very heavyset men.

"How long can we have him up there?" Harry asked as James cursed repeatedly in the background.

"As long as you like Mr. Styles." One of the men answered, chuckling.

"What do you say," Harry said turning to face Alicia, he picked up a basketball from one of the stands that had already been set up, "Fancy a little one on one?"

She shook her head, "We have lots to do."

"Oh, one game won't kill you."

She shrugged, "It might kill him."

James struggled to maintain calm, and he was turning a deep shade of red as continued screaming profanities at both Harry and Alicia.

"Mate, you've got to calm down." Harry tried, as he forced himself to swallow a laugh, "You won't be able to make it the whole segment if you don't practice."

"A whole segment! We said this was only for one game of hangman"

"Had a change of heart once I saw you up there." Harry shrugged before he set up his shot and threw the basketball into the air. It went into the hoop attached to James in one swoosh.

"Lucky shot."

Harry's smile gathered onto one side of his face as he turned to look at her, making his dimple even more prominent than usual. His eyes were also doing this weird thing where they reflected all of the lights above them, making it look like they were actually twinkling. It made Alicia's stomach flutter, which was weird because her stomach definitely never did anything like that. Especially not because of Harry. If anything, it was because she was anxious about James being up there for too long. That had to be the case.

"You do it then." He said, quickly grabbing the ball and passing it to her.

She caught it with ease, making that cocky smile on Harry's face only grow wider.

"Do I hit the bullseye or make it into the basket?"

"NOT THE BULLSEYE!" James cried.

Alicia tried to imagine the ball going into the hoop, just as her brother always told her to do when she was little. And with one slight hop, she sent it flying into the air and promptly into one of the cameras on the left side of the stage.

"Whoops!" She cried out, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Not very good, are we?" Harry asked laughing as he watched three cameramen trying to frantically make sure she didn't break the obviously expensive and crucial piece of equipment.

Alicia shrugged as she pushed up her glasses, "I used to play on a team, that was a really long time ago though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I just was always on the bench."

Harry nodded, "So you...sat for the team?"

Alicia unwillingly smiled, "You're right, I did."

"It's nice you're both getting on, but could you PLEASE GET ME DOWN." James cried, trying to wiggle himself free. In the process, he managed to dislodge the hoop from his chest and it came down with a crash upon the stage. The cameramen looked up in fear of another piece of equipment being ruined but quickly realized that none of their cameras nor devices were in immediate danger and went back to what they were doing.

Harry put on his serious face and nodded at the crew members that were still holding up James. They let him down immediately, almost a little too quickly, which caused James to scream on his way down.  
Alicia had to cover her laughter, as James was clearly pained. But it served him right for bringing in that stupid boy bander for an entire week. Justice was clearly served on the court today.

"So, anything we have to fix for tonight?" Harry asked as James angrily ripped the bullseye off of his crotch.

James looked at Alicia almost as if pleading with her to fix his mess per usual, but she ignored him. She went back to where she had left her bag, hitched it up on her shoulder, and turned to walk back to her office.

"Hey, wait up!" Harry yelled behind her.   
Alicia didn't want to stop. In fact, she told herself not to, knew that if she did she would never rid herself of Harry. So she just couldn't fathom why she slowed her pace and turned to look back to make sure he was behind her.

"Thanks." Harry smiled endearingly as he began walking next to her, "Didn't think you would." He said looking down and stuffing his oversized hands into his too-tight pockets.

Alicia wanted to scream. Wanted to tell him that he wasn't fooling anyone. That his stupid outrageous fashion choices and too-cool demeanor weren't going to charm her. That he could smile at her all he wanted, but at the end of the day, they were nothing but acquaintances.

Instead, she said, "I'm not the same person I was all those years ago, you know?"

And she knew that was for damn sure. Because the Alicia from three years ago, hell three days ago, would never be caught dead walking next to Harry Styles just because.

But alas, here they were. Walking side by side, arms almost touching, in a narrow and cramped corridor that led from the stage back to the studios. It was too intimate, she could feel the warmth he radiated and could hear his uneven breaths. She wanted no part in this, none at all.

"Yeah." He said, his voice vibrating off the walls, "I don't think any of us want to be who we used to be."

"Oh?"

"You know," Harry mumbled, "We all like to say 'oh, no I'm not like that anymore' or 'look at how much I've changed, I'm nothing like I used to be' and it's like, why is the person you were so bad?"

"Uh..."

"I mean if we aren't the person we once were, doesn't that mean we're a whole new person? Like, we've erased everything we once were. You know, you can't just erase the bad parts, a lot of the good parts disappear as well" He went quiet for a second and then added, "Maybe the parts we thought were bad were the parts people loved about us the most."  
Alicia didn't know what to respond to him, all she knew was that they had stopped walking and were now standing face to face in the middle of the empty corridor. Harry was clearly having a moment and she didn't want to interrupt him.

He looked at her, almost hoping she'd say something. So she asked, "Are you really a different person from who you were all those years ago?"  
Harry shook his head, "No, and I don't want to be."  
Alicia smiled, there was something in the simplicity of that answer that she couldn't help but be envious of.

"So you'd keep the bad parts and all?" She asked.

"Every. Last. One."

She nodded, not sure what else to say. So Harry chuckled, "Sorry, I'm completely mad, aren't I?"

"No, no."

"Really?"

"Well, maybe a tad full of shit, but aren't we all?"  
He laughed, the sound filling the small space, "This is too deep for a "we're strictly in a professional relationship" relationship, isn't it?"

She shrugged, "I've handled quite a few of James' existential crises. Although, I imagined you have about two a week."

"Life of an artist, I guess."

"Pain makes the money." She shrugged, starting to walk again. They hadn't even made it halfway down the hallway yet.

"I guess."

"You guess? Have you heard your album?"

"Have you?" He said, looking at her clearly shocked.

"No, I just-" She turned about three shades redder than she already was clearly giving it away that after downloading Harry's single she had proceeded to devour the entire album.

"You did."

"I did."

"And you liked it?"

"And I appreciated the work you put into it."

"Ouch, that means you didn't like it."

"I didn't say that."

He turned to her and quickly said, "Favorite song!"

"Kiwi." She said without even missing a beat. He smiled widely.

"Favorite-"

"I'm not doing this."

She quickly realized in what direction this conversation was headed and she wanted no part of it. Five days, she just had to keep it light and professional for five days.

"Why not? You have the chance to talk to the artist of your favorite album Alicia." He said, grabbing her arm so that she would stop and face him again. He had clearly caught her off guard, but he ignored her surprise face and asked, "Do you know how many people would kill for that chance?"

She yanked her arm away, "I'm not one of those people, clearly."

"You have a favorite song!" He yelled after her as she began speed walking towards the exit and her heels began to clack furiously.

"Yeah, just one! You need better material!" She yelled back.

She could hear him running behind her, and within an instant, he was beside her once more. There were no lights above him, but still, his eyes looked dazzling. His smile was resplendent. And when he said, "Then give me some." and grabbed her hand, she could have sworn she felt the world move beneath her feet.

\---  
They didn't talk again for the rest of the afternoon. Perhaps they had both realized what dangerous territory they were heading into and knew it was best to keep their distance. Maybe it was just because they were both busy. Okay, yeah, it was because of the first reason.

After about two hours, Alicia finished writing up some cue cards for Harry. She knew that she to deliver them, there was no way out of it. She had to go over the changes and notes she had made, just as she always did for James.

She sighed, tugged at her skirt to make sure it was not wrinkled, and tightened her ponytail. With an inhale and a small prayer, she hoped that she would be able to compose herself and forget that whatever had just happened earlier had happened at all.   
She hesitated as she knocked on his dressing room door. Clearly, he was put off as well, seeing as the moment she walked in he didn't make a peep.

About twenty minutes went by before Alicia quipped, "Awfully quiet, aren't we?" As she finished organizing the cue cards she had for him.

"You're complaining?" He asked without looking up from the folder he was reading from. It had the words Day Two in James' tight block letter scribbled across the front.

"Not complaining, just curious."

"Huh," Harry responded, leaning back in his seat. He placed what he was reading on the vanity in front of him and stretched pensively.

Alicia watched him through the mirror, rolling her eyes at the sight of his exposed hip tattoos. She could only see the tops of them but knew from afar that they were two ferns. Back when he had come to LA the second or third time he had been in a minimal clothes phase and only wore obscenely short shorts wherever he went. That boy and his phases. She shook her head and turned back to her work.

"Hmmm," Harry continued, obviously trying to get her attention.

"What?" She finally sighed.

"I don't know, that's just..."

"Just?"

He smirked, "It's funny."

"Oh?" She asked, her brow creasing as she turned to look at him head-on.

"Well, yesterday you said I'd have to deal with your indifference, and now you're wondering why I'm not talking?"

Alicia blushed, but quickly composed herself, "I'm just making conversation, don't flatter yourself."

"Right."

"And when I do talk you run off."

"I didn't run off because you were talking."

"Why did you run off then?"

She couldn't say it, for some reason she just couldn't admit it was because of what he had said. The whole "give me some material" thing? As if she could be fodder for one of his overly emotional songs.

"Alicia?"

"I just-"

"Just?"

"Look, we talked about this. We're keeping this professional."

"We weren't being professional?" He said, clearly playing stupid.

"You grabbed me by the arm."

"I can't touch your arm?"

"You can't touch me at all!"

He quietly muttered, "You didn't pull away."

"What?"

"The second time, you didn't pull away."

She had been taken by surprise. She hadn't expected his hand to fit in hers so perfectly, for his skin to be so warm or his fingers so callused. She thought that the tops of his hands would be rougher from the indentations of his tattoos, but she had been wrong. And she was so sure that she could feel his heart beating as rapidly as hers, so fucking sure of it.  
Alicia had managed to memorize all of that in the short time that they had touched, and that's why she knew she couldn't do this anymore.

She threw the cue cards at him and walked towards the door, "See you in ten for rehearsal."

"You don't have to—"

She slammed the door behind her before he could even finish. Yes, it was petty. Yes, perhaps a bit adolescent, but come on. She was just trying to be civil, why did he have to say shit like that? He knew what he was doing. He was forcing her to admit something she knew she couldn't possibly feel. At least, that she thought she couldn't.

"Is he still in—"

"No!" She yelled at some girl from down in payroll. Everyone who worked on the show, from behind the scenes to James' tailor kept trying to "casually" stroll by Harry's dressing room hoping to run into him.   
Ironic, wasn't it, that she was trying to avoid him while basically everyone on the planet hoped to spend at least a second of their time with him?   
She took a breath and told herself to calm down, showtime was in less than an hour.

\---  
To be fair the whole human basketball deal worked out better than expected. The rehearsal did work out the kinks, however, the bullseye remained in its place.

"Oh come on Shaq, you're going to let the skinny brit beat you?" James asked in mid-air as Shaquille O'Neal got ready to shoot the ball.

"You're really going to antagonize the guy who could hit the bullseye, no problem?" Harry quipped eliciting a large number of laughs from the audience.

"He has a point," Shaq said, laughing as he took his stance again, this time clearly not aiming for the hoop.

Alicia laughed along half-heartedly as they finished the game. Miraculously James was uninjured, and Shaq clearly let Harry beat him simply because his daughter told him not to embarrass Harry Styles on national television or "he'd never want to meet her". A story the ex-NBA told whilst sitting in between Harry and James on the renowned navy blue couch. Harry laughed, promising that Shaq's daughter would be meeting him soon.   
Harry had nice chemistry with both the celebrity guest and James, they all managed to bounce off of each other nicely, rarely even needing the cue cards.

By the end of the show though, Harry was once more getting ready to sing another song off the album, and Alicia was getting ready to call it a night. She didn't want to stay for his performance, not tonight. But she could feel that same nervous energy coursing through him and remembered what James had told her yesterday, and somehow that made her feet remain firmly in place.

It was basically the end of day two and Harry Styles was already proving to be more trouble than he was worth, clearly. But as he stepped up on that stage and those stupid lights shone on him and his stupid face lit up, she knew that something was clearly wrong.   
He wasn't the same boy she had met before, no, he was different. But maybe, that was just because she didn't know him at all then. And that's what began to set off an alarm in her head.

She didn't know him, but now she wanted to. More than anything, she wanted to know why his songs were just so fucking sad. She wanted to know who hurt him, what made him feel like no one listens when he speaks? What is it like to lose someone that important to you that you have no other remedy than to pine over every mistake you made in odes to them? How could you ever perform something so clearly personal to an audience of people who want to dissect every word you've written? How do you know it's reached the person you wrote it for? Will, you ever know? Would it matter?

Alicia couldn't stop, she heard him singing and felt the lyrics wrap around her. Oh god, she didn't know what to do. All she could do was leave. She didn't wait for the music to stop or the lights to dim, she just grabbed her bag and quickly left before it all became too much for her to bear.

\---  
"You didn't stay."

Alicia looked up to see Harry leaning against her doorframe, he was still in the outfit he had been wearing when he had performed. She wished she could've said he looked ridiculous, but somehow he could pull off a red floral suit.

"I'm not always going to stay." She said, trying to quickly pack up her things so she could finally leave.  
"Oh." He said, nodding solemnly, trying to understand when he clearly didn't.

"I uh, I'm heading out," Alicia said, grabbing her phone before trying to approach the door cautiously. Harry didn't move an inch.

"I just—I." Harry took a breath, "I know things got weird today."

"Yeah?"

Alicia didn't know what she was hoping for here, things could either go one of two ways, and she doubted this was going to turn out like some cliche romantic comedy.

"I'm sorry. I was out of line, it won't happen again."

Yep, nothing like a romantic comedy, because clearly, this is where Harry would've told her he felt something for her. He didn't know what, but god, it was something. And then he would take her in his arms, in that tacky floral suit and—

"Alicia?"

"Oh, sorry." She said, shaking her head to rid it of ridiculous thoughts, "It's fine, really."

"You sure?"

She nodded, "You're good."

He smirked, "Well, I know that."

She rolled her eyes, "Okay, I'm done."

"No, no come on now we were having a nice moment."

"Not one part of this day had a nice moment."

"Hey now, I thought we did pretty well until—"

"Until?"

"Well, until we had that moment."

Alicia just couldn't leave it alone, "And what moment was that?'

Harry stopped being flustered because at that moment he knew. He knew that Alicia needed him to say it for it to be real. "When we touched, you know?" He asked, his hand somehow finding its way back to hers, almost as if to relive that moment once more.

She looked at her hand in his, this time really looked. His fingers wrapped around hers more confidently this time, and now, she didn't dare think of pulling away.

"What happened when we touched?" She asked, not daring to look up at him, instead, she focused on their intertwined hands.

Harry stayed quiet for a moment, "I don't know, I think—"

But that was as far as he got before they heard James' loud voice coming down the hallway, making Alicia take back her hand as fast as humanly possible.

"Alright then, we ready, H?" James said, cupping Harry's shoulder with his large hand.

Harry nodded, clearly still a bit rattled.

"What's with the vibe in here? You two get into a spat again?"

Alicia shook her head, "No, I was just heading out."  
"Why don't you come to dinner with us? Julia's got a sitter, we can make a night of it."

"Oh, no I—"

Harry looked at her and said, "She's got a long day tomorrow, mate. After all, she's been dealing with me the past two days, give her a break. The kid deserves it."

James shrugged, "Alright. Well, you're not getting out of Friday dinner."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Alicia nodded. She silently mouthed "Thank you" to Harry as James turned around and headed back out the door. Harry winked in response, making her blush. Which immediately made her curse herself because she did not blush.

"Well, we're off. " James said, clearly waiting for Harry to follow him.

Harry gave Alicia a two-finger salute and said, "Goodnight, Ali, get some rest."

She nodded, "Yeah, you too."

The moment she could no longer hear the echoes of their loud voices in the hallway, she let out a large sigh of relief. She had to lean against her desk and take a breather. It was all too much, far too much. Nothing had happened, not technically. But in the same way, something did. And it was unexplainable and undefinable, but at the same time, you could see how it was about to change everything. She sensed it, she knew.

It was safe to say she would not be getting any sleep tonight. Day three was going to be fun, wasn't it?


	3. Chapter 3

Harry should have been elated. He had every right to be, his album was charting at number one all over the world, his mum had just called and told him that she couldn't be prouder of who he has become, and he had gotten extra whip in his chai latte. It was a pretty decent start to the morning, you know? 

But he knew that the moment he walked into the studio he would have to come face to face with Alicia and the clear awkwardness that was now before them. He didn't want to say he had never felt this—whatever it was—with anyone else, but he really hadn't. It sounds cliche, it does. Harry knew though that things with her were just so different than they had been with anyone else. He didn't know where he stood, what he could say, what he could do. All he knew was that yesterday things had changed and he didn't know what to make of it or how it would affect their work relationship. 

"How do you do that?" James asked, peering at him from the top of his sunglasses. They were at a red light, and James was once more marveling at how Harry always managed to look so incredibly put together at the ass crack of dawn. 

Harry smirked as he looked at James who was wearing a dad-ish polo shirt with a few remnants of baby spit up on it. James' cargo shorts had been clean, that is, until they hit the coffee shop closest to them and he had managed to spill a great deal of his iced latte on them. Now there were chocolate stains and remnants of the muffin he had attempted to eat while driving. 

"Don't know. Just throw anything on, you know?"

"Clearly I don't," James said, signaling to his mess of an outfit.

"That's what you have stylists for." Harry pointed out.

"They aren't on hand 24/7."

Harry leaned over and cupped his friend's shoulder with fake sympathy, "You'll eventually get the hang of it, mate."

James swatted Harry's hand away and tried to focus on the road. But Harry had begun humming and tapping his long fingers against the dashboard in beat to the music that was playing on the radio. It just so happened to be his song. 

"Normally I'd say that's incredibly narcissistic, but it's actually kind of endearing."

"You're making me blush," Harry said with a playful coyness 

James leaned over and shoved him even though he was driving. Harry laughed, but once the moment passed he began to sing out loud with the radio. He couldn't help it.

"You do actually listen to your own tunes, don't you?" James asked.

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I? I love my album."

"See, that's the kind of response I want to hear from a musician!" James said excitedly, "How can you expect someone to buy your album if you don't even like listening to it. "

Harry nodded, "I completely agree." and continued humming along to his song. James respectfully waited until the song was over to continue the conversation, even turned up the radio a bit so Harry could jam out in the confines of the Range Rover.

"Guess who loves your album more than you do, though," James asked when the music had faded.

"Who?"

"I reckon it's someone you don't quite get on with."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Kanye?"

"You don't even know Kanye."

"I met him once."

"You're right, once is enough for someone to decide they don't like you."

"Hey!"

"Am I wrong?"

Harry sighed in response, "Who then?"

James slyly smiled, "Alicia."

Harry immediately recalled the day before and their conversation in the tight confines of the hallway behind the set. He played it off though, "Yeah right."

"I'm serious."

"How do you know?"

"She was jamming to it when I walked into her office yesterday afternoon."

"She had her headphones in?"

"Yep."

"Then how did you—"

"She was singing out loud."

"No, she wasn't." Harry couldn't even imagine it. Alicia was much more careful than that.

"It was lunchtime, she probably thought there was no one around. Listen, the point is, I think you two might get on just fine. I reckon you'll become much closer than you expected."

"Just because she liked my album?"

"No."

"Then?"

"Because she likes you."

Harry was reeling. It was not like him to believe any of the shit that came out of James' mouth, but he wanted to. For some reason, he did want to believe that Alicia could actually fancy him. That she was singing to one of his songs while writing notes or cue cards. Something about imagining her pouty lips mouthing the words turned him on a bit, he couldn't deny it. But that was to be expected. There was nothing hotter than the object of your affections truly vibing with something you've created. 

"I doubt it," Harry said, clearing his throat. He pulled down his striped button-down shirt and awkwardly shifted in his seat. 

James arched his eyebrows as he looked at Harry and smirked, "Really, is that why you've gotten a stiffie?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I've seen the nude selfie, I know you're not that big."

"Seriously? We were talking about my music, not my dick."

"Aren't they one and the same?"

Harry turned to face the window, "I'm done engaging."

"You can't just disengage. You've got to know how to turn the conversation around when it's getting off track!"

"You're seriously going to say this is an exercise?"

"Everything is an exercise, young Harold. Life comes at you when you least expect it, you have to be ready."

Harry stayed quiet for a second before saying, "Not that great at the dad thing yet, are you?"

James laughed loudly, "Carey's only three, I have some time to figure it out before she catches on."

"Max is nine," Harry said referring to James' older son.

"That's why he mostly talks to his mother. I've decided to start over with the little one."

Harry chuckled loudly, "Is it really that easy?"

"What? To start over?"

"Yeah, I mean...is it possible?"

James shrugged, "Don't know. I sure as hell hope it is."

"Why?"

"Sometimes you just need a clean slate, I mean," He paused, "Just look at you."

"I didn't need a clean slate. Everything was wiped off of it."

"That's a tad melodramatic."

"It is not. I had no choice."

"So you're saying you would have stayed in One Direction for the rest of your life if the circumstances had allowed."

"I—I"

"See! You know bloody well you wouldn't have. People change Harry, its not about you erasing who you are or denying where you've come from. That's what's brought you to the place you're at now, what's made you who you are. It's about getting the chance to redefine yourself, to finally become who you've always known you could be." 

Harry didn't say anything, simply nodded, so James continued, "And I think you, more than anyone, can understand that."

After months of hiding himself away in the Caribbean, of trying to finally find what it is he wanted to show the world, Harry knew that what James was saying was completely correct. It wasn't about erasing his past with the band, it was about redefining himself as an individual. He would never denounce his time with One Direction, he loved every second of it, but it had become monotonous and riddled with pressure and anxiety. They were at the very top, and Harry didn't know if they would ever be able to get any higher. He didn't think he wanted them to. There's only so high you can go before you stop seeing the ground below you, and Harry had been losing sight of it every passing day. 

This transition from Harry Styles of One Direction to just Harry Styles had been one of the hardest things he had to ever do. It wasn't because he wasn't with the band anymore, no, it was the fact that he didn't know how to define himself without them. So what he had told Alicia was true, without a doubt. He still wanted to be himself, he didn't want to omit the parts of his life or identity that he didn't like. But without the band and without the fans, he had truly questioned how much of himself was actually him and how much was the persona he had to put on. 

So as the months passed and Harry began to settle down into a more recognizable routine, he knew that he didn't know quite who he was yet, but that was okay. He wouldn't change anything for the world. And as time passed and he grew more into himself, he knew that one day he'd become the person he was meant to be. Flaws and all. 

"Hey, Corden?"

"Yeah, mate?"

"I take it back."

"What?"

Harry smiled, "You've totally got the dad thing down."

"You reckon?" James said in an uncharacteristically small voice. Harry immediately wondered if he would cry. He probably would, he was a sap.

"Yeah, I reckon. I really do."

\---

So the only thing that Harry's residency had really changed for Alicia was her downtime. While before it was usually in the morning or late afternoon, with Harry there it had become virtually nonexistent. Especially since she ended up thinking about him, even when he wasn't around.

She shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts and made a mental note to take some time to herself when she got back to her small apartment. She deserved it after all, but right now she couldn't do anything about that, seeing as it was about half an hour before they would pre-record their segment for tonight's show and things were not yet put into place. She had about fifty things to do to make sure everything went off without a hitch, but only two hands. Being an assistant called for impeccable multi-tasking skills, and while Alicia could definitely hold her own, today was proving to just be too much for her. She seriously hated it seeing as it was so unlike her. But she was trying to focus on the positives. 

For example, she had yet to run into Harry. Thus she had yet to have to deal with whatever it was that happened yesterday. Okay, so maybe she had totally been ignoring Harry all day, making sure to be preoccupied with the celebrity guest that had arrived earlier that morning. So what though? She had to do what she had to do. 

It had felt like months since she had finally gotten to work with someone other than Harry. Sad wasn't it? It had only been three days. But luckily for Alicia, Ewan McGregor had flown in from London from a movie he was filming to be on the show. He had lost a bet to James apparently, and because he was such an important guest, Alicia's time would be shared between both Harry and Ewan. 

Ewan had to participate in James' Crosswalk the Musical of Moulin Rouge, reprising his role as depressed writer Christian alongside his leading "lady" James, as none other than the cabaret dancer and romantic interest Satine, as per the terms of their bet. The problem was Ewan had come down with something on the plane. James called bull, Ewan got upset, long story short it was Alicia who had to come to the rescue. 

"Mr. McGregor, I've got you some tea. I heard it helps."

He didn't open the door to his dressing room and Alicia sighed. He had locked himself in there about twenty minutes ago. He couldn't stay in there forever, could he? 

"He's not going to come out, you know?"

She didn't need to look behind her to know that Harry was practically pressed against her, his lips far too close to her ear. It took everything within her not to drop the mug she had in her hands. 

"Have you ever heard of personal space?" She asked, her skin covered in goosebumps. 

Harry chuckled, still mere inches away from her. She could feel his warm breath upon her neck, and before he could do anything else, she turned around, shoved the mug into his large hands, and started walking back to her office.

"What do you want me to do with this!?" Harry yelled.

"Drink it, throw it away, force it down his throat. I don't care! It's not my problem!"

"Alicia!" 

She didn't turn back, not this time, she had learned her lesson. Alicia had to stay as far away from Harry Styles as humanly possible, but then again, that was easier said than done. 

About five minutes later Alicia had been sent to costume by James to make sure that all the outfits were ready for the musical montage. She took her sweet time looking through the large rack of clothing, making sure all the necessary props were there. She checked on James' red ruby dress, made sure the wig was in place as well. Wondered how many of these princess dresses James now owned because of this ridiculous segment, and thought about how Carey would probably enjoying having tea with him more often if he actually dressed up in them for his daughter.

Alicia reached an unfinished glittery bodysuit with a fishnet wrap and scoffed. The post-it note on the hanger said "HS" and she really wished she could say she was surprised, but of course she wasn't. She rolled her eyes at Harry's ridiculous cabaret outfit for his role as one of Satine's fellow dancers and suit for his role as Harold Zidler. How he was going to manage two full costume changes she had no idea, but then again, it wasn't any of her concern. 

"I'm telling you, it's absolutely perfect," Harry said in a rather chipper voice as he walked towards the rack. He couldn't see Alicia as he was on the other side. 

"You're going to blind someone with the number of sequins on that thing." The costume designer, Lizzy, said as she stood next to him. She was trying to convince him to let up on the sequence, but of course, he wasn't having it. 

"But it's Broadway, you know? Go big or go home."

"It's a city crosswalk. We don't even have permission to do this shit." She responded.

"Doesn' that make it even funnier."

The designer sighed, "You sound just like him."

"James?"

"Who else?"

"Oh come on. It's James, don't you kind of know what you're getting into."

She sighed, "If only I did. I bet Jimmy Fallon doesn't ask for Princess ballgowns in a men's 24W on a monthly basis."

Alicia had to hold back a laugh, Lizzy was right. Working with James was sometimes a huge pain in the ass, Alicia would clearly know. 

"Oh, what are these?" Harry asked as he moved two hangers out of the way, only to reveal Alicia standing on the other side. 

"Fuck" she muttered as he looked at her with an incredibly amused look upon his face. 

"Fancy meeting you here." He smirked.

"I was just checking on the costumes." 

Lizzy sighed, "Did James send you?" 

"Yeah."

"Tell that man that he is not going to look like Nicole Kidman. It does not matter how much I tighten the corset or add on more sequence, it just is not going to happen." Lizzy huffed, before turning on the points of her feet and marching back to the sewing area in the other room. She had clearly completed all the costumes and had no intentions of changing them. 

"Good for her" Alicia thought to herself, a little jealous of how Lizzy was able to stand up for herself. Not that Alicia couldn't, she tried, the problem was no one listened. 

"Ali?"

"What!?" She said, clearly not wanting to talk to Harry. 

"I just wanted to ask you how you were."

She shook her head, "I really just need to go back to work. You guys are filming in less than a half-hour."

"I got Ewan out of his room."

"Good for you." She said, clearly unimpressed.

"His voice is better too."

"That's great." She responded as she began to finish examining the costumes. 

He placed a hand upon hers to stop her from ignoring him. They probably looked ridiculous to anyone that walked in. Harry on one side of the large rack of costumes, and Alicia on the other. His arm was stretched out over the expanse of material to reach her. She didn't pull back, not yet anyway. 

"We should really talk."

She shook her head and slowly moved her hand away, "Not yet."

"Then when?"

Alicia shrugged and responded, "Never?" Before taking her hand back completely and turning to go out the door. He wasn't going to get her this time. Yesterday she let her guard down, but today she was ready for anything. 

And that included a stupid boy bander who believed he was entitled to getting any girl he wanted. 

\---

Harry didn't want to confront Alicia about everything that had happened, but he had to. He knew that there was something there to talk about, to see through. He wasn't stupid enough to think it would last—he only had five days left in LA for the next two months anyway. But damn, this whole situation was just bothering him in a way that he just didn't quite know how to articulate. 

"Alright." James started, dressed in a large black ballgown with sparkly gems. "We're all here today to put on a production of Moulin Rouge, correct?"

The actors that had volunteered to be a part of this large skit whistled and cheered, to which James responded with a, "We came here to work! Not play!" The group thus quickly settled down and looked at him with somber looks. Well, all except Harry of course.

Harry tried to hold back his laughter. This was clearly not James. This was his theater persona, the one that demanded everything is done perfectly. The one that made most people cry. This was the one that he had constantly employed on Harry when they had run lines together for Harry's upcoming Dunkirk role, not that he minded, it actually helped keep him on his toes. 

Most of the crew knew this was James putting on a show, but there was the rare newcomer who was terrified of what was going on, and the thought of running into rush hour traffic to perform a stupid musical for a couple of laughs just didn't seem like a legitimate reason for putting themselves in immediate danger.

Not that they would say anything to James though, even they knew it was better to just go along with his crazy ideas. Most of the time they ended up being the funniest things they'd ever done, even if they were a tad bit reckless. 

Harry was no exception. In the seven years, he had known James he had done many things he thought he never would, mostly because of the insistence of his dear friend. Going solo definitely being at the top of that list as the most mental thing he's ever done because James encouraged him that he could and therefore should. So wearing a sheer sequin bodysuit in the middle of LA traffic at two pm while getting ready to perform a musical number alongside Ewan McGregor didn't really phase him at this point. It was not even close to being as terrifying as writing an album as vulnerable as the one he had. 

"Okay, here's the deal," James said as he gathered everyone in for a huddle. Alicia had perched herself on a director's chair James had brought out for her. She was right next to the light, cell phone ready to dial 911 in case someone got hurt because they missed their cue and got stuck in the middle of the intersection, "I need you all to be aware of your surroundings. I need you to hit your marks, emote, and give it all that you've got!" The group clapped loudly, their various costumes glimmering and reflecting the hot afternoon sun. 

"Oh, and McGregor, try not to sound so nasally. It ruins the chemistry between us."

"The only thing that ruins our chemistry is your lack of taste. Really, a ballgown?" Ewan said critiquing James' flowing satin ensemble.

"We can't all look like Nicole Kidman! I'm sorry to let you down!"

"No one ever thought you were going to-" Ewan began, but Harry quickly shut him down. 

"Isn't it about time we get started? " Harry asked.

"Alright everyone, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" is our opener. Break a leg on three!" 

Everyone gathered in, squishing Harry into the middle of the large circle along with Ewan. As weird as this situation was, he felt so incredibly attuned with everything around him. 

He actually wouldn't mind it if every day was kind of like this one.

\---

Alicia always had a particular problem with James' reckless stunts, but somehow Crosswalk the Musical had found a place within her heart.

This was the fourth production they were putting on, even though James was warned already by the LAPD that if anything happened to one of our "insane" employees that they would be pressing charges against him. James of course laughed it off, as he did with most things. 

But for the first time, Alicia was kind of glad he did. So she wasn't particularly thrilled that Milo had found a way to worm himself into this skit, especially since he had been on board with the removal of it altogether. But she figured someone needed to be in charge of costume changes and props, and it certainly wasn't going to be her. 

Traffic was incredibly heavy today, cars were constantly bumper to bumper. It didn't help that it was muggy out, incredibly humid and sticky weather that made Alicia's dark hair stick to the back of her neck and frizz almost instantaneously. But she paid it no mind, the musical was actually coming along quite nicely.

Typically this particular segment took about thirty minutes to shoot, what with the whole time calculations they needed to make to ensure they had enough time to perform a song between the red and green light. The planning it took to coordinate an exit and entrance that ensured every person's safety. And of course, the whole having to drag hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of mics and speakers to set up along the side of the studio so that the whole city block could hear the production. 

Harry was a natural, there was no doubt. He had no qualms in making an ass out of himself, and Alicia knew that was part of his allure. Surely there was nothing more charming than a man so sure in his own sexuality that he could can-can in a bodysuit and still laugh at himself at the end of the day. But Alicia didn't even want to look at him. She forced herself to focus on James' interpretation of Satine's songs and his clear attempt to striking up chemistry with Ewan. Strangely enough, it kind of worked. 

By the end of their rendition of "Elephant Love Melody", Ewan and James had become Christian and Satine. Parody or not, they were both broadway actors by nature and always took their roles seriously. James may have been a man in a ballgown playing a french prostitute, but he made it charming and he made it his own. 

Sure, the people sitting in their cars may have had no idea with this large man in a wig was trying to kiss the smaller man who was singing to him in the middle of the intersection, but Alicia understood the sentiment and had really gotten into the spirit of things by the time the "show" was about to wrap up. 

Perhaps it had been the heat, the excitement, or the volume of the speakers, but some of the group had unfortunately missed their cue. While James and Ewan and a couple of other extras had managed to run back to Alicia before their standing ovation, Harry and the others hadn't.   
In fact, by the time they noticed that they should have been on the sidewalk, the light turned green. And before they could run to the other side, Alicia heard Harry scream and cars break roughly. 

People around her were yelling and frantic, asking "Where's Harry!?". James ran into the street, ballgown billowing and wig falling off, and still, Alicia couldn't move. 

She was frozen on the spot until she wasn't. She dashed into the street, right after James. Traffic had completely ceased, it was as if the entire world had gone silent the moment she laid eyes on Harry lying upon the concrete. 

\---

Harry, being Harry, had managed to get out of the incident without a scratch. Actually, he had come out a hero. Go figure. He had managed to push an extra out of the way of a car and had thrown himself in front of it instead. Luckily the car had stopped before it had grazed him, nonetheless, he had screamed loudly. The adrenaline causing him to fall to his knees. 

It was nothing serious though. But James was probably never going to put on a crosswalk production again. The curtain had closed for the last time. At least, that's what the cops had told him when they arrived at the scene. And after the scare he had gotten today, James did nothing but solemnly agree.

Alicia though, still clearly upset, marched to Harry's dressing room. She didn't bother knocking, simply barged right in. Harry laid upon the plush couch, shirtless, his ankle on the armrest with a pack of ice. He didn't seem too surprised to see Alicia.

"What a tough crowd." He said, grinning as if nothing had happened.

She stood directly before him, her arms crossed tightly, clearly implying she was anything but amused,"Seriously?"

"Was I that bad? I reckon I was rather good. Not a Tony worthy performance but-"

"You almost got run over by a car!" 

"The keyword is almost."

Alicia huffed, she couldn't believe him. This whole situation didn't even phase him.

"I'm fine you know. Don't have to worry about me."

She looked at him through her eyelashes, "I wasn't worried."

"You ran out into the street. I woke up and your face was the first one I saw."

Alicia blushed, "I was scared you were hurt."

"Because you fancy me?" He said.

"No, because James would get sued and this entire show would probably be canceled for putting celebrities in deliberate danger."

"So you don't fancy me?" He asked, ignoring her clear attempt to change the conversation. 

Alicia couldn't answer. 

"How about this," Harry said, sitting up and taking the ice pack off of his slightly swollen right ankle. Alicia tried to stop him, but he waved her off and stood up as if nothing had happened. clearly, he was playing it off as his ankle throbbed when he put weight on it, and he felt incredibly lightheaded. But that last thing could have been because of a mixture of factors, one very important one being the girl standing before him, "Since whenever I talk to you about something that makes your uncomfortable you refuse to give me an answer, I'm going to get one out of you."

"What?"

"I am going to stand right here." He said, taking a step to get closer to her, "And I am going to-"

"Don't you dare kiss me, Harry Styles!" She pushed him back, making him fall onto the couch again. He yelped in pain, which immediately made her feel like shit. "Oh, god." She mumbled hovering over him, "Are you okay?"

He rolled his eyes, "Look, either you like me or you don't. But don't do this."

"What?"

"You pushed me and then you're concerned?"

"You tried to kiss me!"

"You don't know that!"

"Really?" Alicia said, bending over to be at eye level with him, "Because any time someone gets this close to my mouth." She whispered as she became acutely aware she was mere inches away from closing the gap between hers and Harry's lips, "I'm pretty sure they don't just want to talk."

"So why are you doing this right now." He said, looking down at the lips he had imagined upon his many a time this week. 

"Proving a point." She said, taking a step back so that she could finally breathe.

Harry smirked, "You fancy me."

"Not everyone is in love with you, Harry. Get over yourself." She said, making him lie down again and propping a pillow beneath his foot. 

"Then why are you doing this?"

"I'm your assistant."

He tilted his head slightly as he made direct eye contact with her, "I think you're more than that."

"I'm not."

"The tears in your eyes, the ones I saw when I woke up on the ground."

"They were from the shock."

"No," He said shaking his head, "They weren't."

"Just because I care about you doesn't mean I like you. It just means I'm a decent human being." 

Harry motioned for her to sit on the edge of the sofa next to him, she was about to say no when he muttered, "I can't stand up, the least you can do is sit down so we can have a proper chat."  
So unwillingly she did just that. Making perfectly sure that she didn't come into contact with his bare skin, and wishing that she had made him put on a shirt. 

"Thanks," Harry said, taking her hand in his and placing it upon his chest. So much for no contact. 

"Just try not to get into harm's way for the rest of the week." She sighed, looking at their intertwined hands. He had placed them right above his monarch tattoo upon his abdomen. In fact, she hadn't seen him shirtless in a while and could see there were dozens of new tattoos upon his already tanned skin. Jamaica had done him well, he almost looked like he was glowing. You know, even though he was almost hit by a car.

"You know I can't make any promises." He said, clearly taking note of how long her gaze lingered upon him. 

"Ah, yes. You are indeed accident prone."

"That has yet to be proven." 

Alicia gave Harry a very pointed look, "Really? "

They both laughed, the tension dissipating. So much so that Alicia allowed Harry to continue holding her hand. 

"I've been meaning to ask you," Harry said, his face looking as serious as ever.

Alicia felt her heart skip, "Yeah?"

"Did you really dump that milkshake on Beiber? Because that story has made some rounds and honestly, I never would have believed it was you if I hadn't heard it from Corden himself."

"I'm full of surprises." Alicia shrugged.

"Fucking ace." He nodded in clear approval.

Alicia looked at the large clock above them and sighed, "I have to get back to work." 

Harry didn't loosen his grip though, "You can spare another minute."

\---

So the whole Crosswalk Musical deal had to be cut out of the show, but James managed to improvise with one of Alicia's most favored segments. She figured he picked it as an apology to her for putting her through hell the past few days, and she was considering accepting the peace offering pending the outcome. 

"Alright," James said clapping his hands together upon the stage, "Harry, you've never played this game, and I don't know if you follow the show..."

Harry made a face and shrugged, "Kind of busy, mate."

"Oh, that's quite fine. Thought my best mate could watch my show and all, but you know that's cool."

The audience laughed loudly, right alongside Harry. 

"Anyways." James continued, "We're going to play Flinch."

James explained the rules of the game and directed Harry to go first. Harry, of course, the goofball he is, didn't quite believe that the game was that bad. He stood behind a large transparent plastic pane, waiting for James to catapult various fruits at him through what seemed to be an automatic tennis ball launcher, in order to make him flinch. It was simple enough. 

What made it fun was the fact that James was always able to distract the guest from realizing that he'd pressed the button, causing the various food items to hit the pane at full speed, making whoever it was behind it scream loudly. 

Harry was no exception, it was priceless. Alicia felt the weight of the day start coming off her shoulders as Harry walked back around and touseled his hair once more, trying to play off the fact that he had shrieked so loud that James was most likely going to save the clip and show it at every family party he and Harry attended. 

There were splatters of avocado upon his suit, remnants of the attack, but Harry didn't seem to mind. In fact, he went right into his live performance. 

He had chosen a more upbeat song, one of Alicia's favorites off of his album. Not that he'd ever know, or at least she thought. The slight sway of her hips and the slight way she mouthed every word tipped him off, even all the way on stage. He couldn't think of a more befitting song for her than Carolina. Even sang the lyrics, "How would I tell her that she's all I think about? Well, I guess she just found out" while making direct eye contact, just to make it completely clear how he felt about her. The rest, he figured as he continued his performance, was up to her.

\---

"Liked that song, did you?" Harry asked as Alicia came into his dressing room after the show ended. She had come to drop off some scripts for tomorrow and some other paperwork. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and turning to leave. 

"Carolina. The song you were rocking out to."

She turned back to look at him, placing a hand upon her hip, "I was doing no such thing."

Harry smirked, "Ali, you can't hide it from me." He pulled her to him, making her dance with him. He placed his hands on her hips, making them mimic the movement she had been doing earlier. And for once, she didn't get mad at his advances, instead, she danced with him. 

There was no music, there didn't have to be. 

"You just keep testing your luck, don't you." She said, placing her hands around his neck as they continued moving to the nonexistent beat.

"Only when there are no milkshakes around."

She laughed, "Is that all I'm going to be known for?"

"There are worse things."

"That's true. I could be the assistant that was dumb enough to fall for Harry Styles."

He shrugged, "That's fair, I suppose."

They stopped moving, but her hands remained wrapped around his neck, and his upon her hips. Slowly his hands inched to meet at the small of her back, pulling her into him. 

"But would that really be the worst thing that you could be known for?" Harry asked, his eyes looking the brightest she had ever seen them. It was completely and utterly unfair how good he looked, especially from the angle Alicia had been graced with. 

"I don't know." She said, quite honestly, "You tell me. Would it be a mistake to fall for you?"

He pushed back a strand of hair from her face and leaned in slowly, cautiously. Almost as if waiting for her to change her mind. But she didn't. 

So he leaned in slowly, "I don't know, Ali. All I hear is that I'm trouble." His words were hot against her ear, it made her chest tighten. "I don't think I am." He said, looking at her head on now, his hair swooping down upon his forehead. "But then again, we never think we are, do we?" 

"Oh my god," Alicia said, her lips brushing his slightly, you couldn't even technically call it a kiss. But Harry's entire body lit up at the sheer touch. "Do you ever shut up?"

Harry looked at her with comic confusion, his heart beating so incredibly quickly that he could barely hear anything but it, "You are seriously a piece of work." He said, trying to catch his breath. Normally he would have reacted by now, wouldn't have allowed for her to take the first swing. Would have pressed her onto that fucking couch from the first day he met her and made her his within five minutes. But there was something so incredibly peculiar about her. He wasn't going to pretend it was love or anything of the sort, he didn't know what it was. But he was infatuated with it, with her. 

Alicia leaned back, taking the weight of her body off of him, but not breaking their embrace, "You know, I'm clearly giving you the green light here and you're just blab-" Alicia was unable to finish her sentence because the next thing she knew Harry drew her back upon him with a raspy groan and slammed his lips upon hers, nearly knocking all of the wind out of her. 

Harry's frantic mouth began to part her just as willing lips, sending tremors of nervous excitement throughout both their bodies. It was something that they had both equally wanted, but that they didn't want to relent to. But Alicia felt his body beneath hers, felt him—all of him—pressed against her, and for a moment she truly didn't care what anyone would think. Could give a fuck if he was leaving in two days. She inhaled his delicious scent, knew it was that shaving cream he always used mixed with his favorite cologne. But there was another layer, one so much more intoxicating, and she knew it was just him. She wanted to breathe him in, taste him, eat him. 

Harry couldn't get a hold of himself, her lips tasted so incredibly good, like honey. Better than honey. He couldn't get enough of her. She felt so incredibly wonderful underneath his hands, upon his body, within his mouth. It didn't matter how close their bodies were, he felt the need to have her closer. 

Alicia felt his large hands moving slowly up and down her back, pressing her as close to him as humanly possible. Their kiss lasting longer than she had ever imagined. His hands were everywhere, everywhere. And still, it wasn't enough. 

It wasn't until she could no longer breathe that she broke their kiss and looked up at him with a dreamy half-lidded stare. He wanted to kiss her again, and again, and again, just so he would get to see that vulnerable and undone look upon her face.

"Do you regret falling for me now?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"Who said I fell for you?" 

"So what, what was this?" He said with a chuckle, leaning down once more to plant a kiss upon her soft cheek.

Alicia reciprocated by kissing his neck and grinned at the sharp intake of breath he took at the contact.

"It was what it was. Nothing more." She said, slowly pulling away. 

"We still have two more days together."

"That's right, two."

"You know, if you had given in earlier we could have been doing this since day one."

Alicia punched him in the arm, making him yelp. 

"What you're going to tell me that wasn't fucking amazing?" Harry asked, a hint of indignation in his voice.

"I didn't say that."

"Then?"

"I'm not saying anything." Alicia said raising her hands, "I'm going home. I suggest you do the same and get some rest."

"We can't just leave it like thi-"

"We can and we will. We lead completely different lives Harry, don't get delusional."

Harry crossed his arms, "Can we at least-"

"If you're about to ask if we can keep doing this until the end of the week I'm going to punch you in the face this time."

"You didn't say no though."

She smirked, "Indeed I didn't."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, "Wait...so...?"

But Alicia was already heading towards the door, "Goodnight, Harry. Get some rest."

Harry shook his head, a large smile upon his face, wondering how in the hell he would be able to ever fall asleep with the amount of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Alicia, as cool as she may have played it, couldn't even make it back to her office. She had made it two steps down the hallway before having to lean upon the cold, white wall to catch her breath. It was stupid, she was stupid. All of this was a mistake. 

Three days in and already she was coming completely undone because of that stupid boy.


	4. Chapter 4

Alicia was beside herself. All she could think about throughout the night and straight through the morning was Harry's soft lips upon hers. She was screwed, plain and simple. 

"Morning, love," James said, peeking in her doorway. He had on a polo and cargo shorts, his typical office attire until he had to change for the show. 

"Hi." She said curtly, knowing that if he looked at her, really looked at her, that he would see right through her. The last thing she needed was James in on...well...whatever it was that she and Harry had. 

"What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" She asked calmly, willing herself not to look up at him.

"Well, you didn't stop by to say good morning."

"I was in a rush."

"You didn't have Harry's dressing room stocked."

Alicia blushed, but still refused to look up at her boss,"He's a big boy."

"You forgot to send me copies of the segments for today."

"Finishing them up right now." She said, waving the papers she had been writing on.

"And you won't look at me either," James said pointedly as he approached her desk. 

Alicia finally glanced up and sighed, "What's up?"

"You're acting strange."

"I am not."

"You certainly are, I know you. The last time you acted this way was when you "accidentally" tripped Joe Jonas because he made some comment about your skirt."

Alicia rolled her eyes. First of all, he totally deserved it. He had made a comment about how it made her ass look astounding, and how he hoped he'd get a chance to take it off later after the show. It had been the first time Alicia had been confronted with a leering celebrity and had no idea how to handle it as it was her first month working with James. So when he was walking onto the stage, she stuck out her foot and watched as he landed face-first on to set in front of a live audience. It had been beautiful. But of course, she had been terrified about the repercussions. Luckily, James was the kind of boss who understood why she did what she did and rarely questioned it. In fact, sometimes (like in that case) he totally applauded it. But in moments like these, she hated that he couldn't just let it go. 

"James, honestly, I just have a lot to do today."

"Right."

"Have you seen the amount of work we have to do for the skits today? I mean honestly." Alicia said, taking a deep breath, "And what's this delivery coming at three?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just something Harry thought up."

Alicia's heart skipped at the mention of his name and she immediately looked down. James of course caught the one moment she had managed to let her facade fail, "Are you still having problems with Harry? I just don't understand what it is with you two. I was so sure you'd get on so well." He lamented.

"There aren't any problems."

'There aren't?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"I said no."

"So, the past three days have been perfect?"

"I wouldn't say perfect, but he's been tolerable." She lied. 

"Oh? He's tolerable now, how interesting."

Alicia grimaced, "It doesn't mean anything, James."

"I'm sure it doesn't, Alicia."

"Did you actually need something?"

James chuckled, "Wow, what a way to talk to your boss."

"I'm assuming that's a no." She said, turning back to her work.

"Now hold on, hold on. I wanted to talk about the carpool karaoke segment."

"What of it?"

"What do you think we should have Harry do?"

Alicia shrugged, "Aren't you two such great friends? Why force it. Just have a normal conversation with him, I'm sure it'll be much better that way."

James paused for a second, pondering her suggestion. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight slightly onto his right leg before asking, "So, what? No script."

"You two literally have the most random conversations. So random, in fact, that most of the time they are actually entertaining. So no, I don't think you need to have a script. Just forget the camera is even there, and tell Harry to do the same."

"H is going to love this!" James said excitedly, already walking towards the door, probably to go tell Harry at once.

Alicia sighed, "Just don't do anything stupid." 

"Dear, you act as if you don't know me. Everything I do is stupid, that's why this show is so popular." James said smilingly, turning back to look at his assistant before walking out the door and running towards Harry's dressing room. She could hear him already, even down the hall. 

As much as she wanted to laugh, the knot that had formed in her stomach at the thought of Harry's touch upon her hot skin reminded her that there was nothing funny about this situation. She was in deep.

\---

As James began setting up equipment in his Range Rover to pre-record the Carpool Karaoke segment, Harry was floating around in his own little world. Since yesterday he had felt restless, completely and utterly undone. He had actually gotten into a routine the past few days, really thought he had fit into the whole office culture thing. He had his own mug next to the coffee machine and everything. But now his focus was all on Alicia. 

All he wanted to do was feel her beneath him again, to feel her lips upon his, and her warm breath upon his skin. Just the thought of her made his pulse accelerate.   
He felt himself shiver and attempted to shake it off. 

"You okay?" James asked, his blue eyes a tad concerned.

"Yeah, mate."

"You look distracted." 

"Didn't get much sleep." 

Which wasn't a complete lie to be fair. He had stayed up most of the night wondering what it would be like if he could have stayed if he and Alicia could have had more than just the five days. Normally Harry wasn't much at a loss when thinking about relationships or his love life, but this time...it was different. He really wanted to know what it would be like to be with Alicia, not only in a physical way, but in the most intimate fashion. He wanted to hear her raspy voice at three am when she's half-asleep, telling him some story about her childhood. He wanted to know what kind of person she was outside of the office, outside of these circumstances. If she put the cereal in first or the milk. If she used a bookmark or dogeared the page. It was the stupidest things that he wanted to know, really. But he knew it was all those little things that amounted to one big one. 

All he could think was that if they had more than five days, they would most likely be together. She might have hated him in the beginning, and he may not have taken her into account, but that's how most love stories start. At least, that's how all the good ones start. Harry would know, he spent those two months in Jamaica binge-watching romantic comedies on Netflix. So yeah, he kind of knew a thing or two about the trope. Did it help him here though? Probably not.

Harry tried to get it together, but he just couldn't. He couldn't. All he thought about was her, her obscenely gorgeous body pressed upon his. Her hands running up and down his back as if looking for an anchor to hold her so that she would not drown. His fingers tangled in her hair as she moaned into his mouth at the roughness of his needy kiss. Oh god, he was in deep.

"Harry!"

Harry looked up and turned to see James ready to get on the road. He looked extremely concerned, "Haz, you sure you okay, mate?"

"Corden, please." Harry said, trying to pull himself together, "It's just been a long morning."

"You woke up two hours ago."

"Longest two hours of my life so far." Oh, how he wished he was joking, but he wasn't. 

James furrowed his brow, put down the small camera he was fiddling with, and turned to look at Harry, "You're a mess, Harold. I think you're actually wearing the same shirt I saw on you last night at dinner."

Harry looked down, "So?"

"You never wear the same shirt twice."

"Says who?"

"You!"

"Maybe I'm trying something new."

"Right." James said rolling his eyes as he leaned back into the car to finish adjusting all the equipment, "I just don't understand what's up with you. Alicia's been acting the same way..." And then it clicked. Harry literally saw the moment it did, for his friend's eyes lit up as he almost jumped out of the car and ran around to grasp Harry's shoulders, "Something happened, didn't it? That's why you two have been so off."

"Nothing-" Harry said trying to peel James off of him. 

"Something happened! Alicia doesn't mope around, she doesn't miss headlines or deadlines, and she most certainly does not avoid looking at me head on."

"Okay? I don't understand what this has to do with me." He pathetically said, attempting to deflect James' intrigue to no avail. 

"And you my dear H are a lost cause. Whenever you're smitten you turn into a hot mess."

"Emphasis on the hot though, right?"

James shook his head, "Can't charm your way out of this one, Styles."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You, you think that you can just be incredibly endearing whenever you're in an uncomfortable situation and all will be fine."

"Weren't you literally just teaching me how to do that?"

"That's beside the point."

"No, mate, it's really not."

"Harry!"

"What!?" Harry shouted back.

"Stop playing stupid!"

"I am not playing stupid!"

"Are you implying you're just stupid then?"

"Probably."

James paused for a second, trying not to explode in seething anger, and simply muttered, "Get in the fucking car."

Harry smirked to himself as James walked around to get in the driver's seat. 

"This doesn't mean this conversation is over."

"Uhuh."

"I'm serious, Styles."

"Okay."

James was going to say something else but decided against it. He probably didn't want to get all riled up before having to film the segment. Harry knew that for now his and Alicia's secret was safe. But James was catching on, and when he figured it out, well, either he was totally going to be for it or totally be against it...whatever it was that they were. Harry doubted it would be the latter, but for Alicia's sake, he was going to leave his pal James in the dark for as long as possible.

\---

"Oh for the love of God" Alicia half jokingly sighed as she watched the playback of the segment that James and Harry had just filmed. The editor, Ned, simply shook his head, cackling.  
James and Harry had switched clothes, sang an "Endless Love" duet, and managed to re-enact scenes from famous rom-coms all in a matter of thirty minutes. She didn't know how they did it. Somehow the entirety of the take was usable and Alicia had to make the choice of what to cut out since James was adamantly against cutting out anything. 

"I just don't know." Alicia let out a breath, "I mean, the only good reenactments are the "Titanic" one and the Julia Roberts one."

"What about the banter?"Ned asked.

"Oh, god. Yeah. The whole "Titanic" argument is great."

"Totally."

"I mean, we can cut out a few of the outfit changes?"

"Edit the ones we keep into like a back and forth kind of thing?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that shaves off seven minutes."

Alicia shook her head, "Only seven?"

"I can take out the shirtless scenes and make it nine."

"Yes."

"You're going to have about a million angry girls flooding your email tomorrow morning."

Alicia laughed, "Whatever."

"What about that mermaid tattoo though?" He asked, pausing the playback.

"Oh, shit." Alicia said leaning in towards the screen, "I hadn't even noticed that."

"How many tattoos do you think he has?" Ned asked, continuing to study the frozen image he had upon the screen. 

Alicia shrugged, "Too many."

"They're kind of cool, kinda suit him." He pressed play and continued studying the screen.

"I guess." She said, trying to avoid staring at Harry upon the screen for too long. She could already feel her face flushing, her chest tightening. She hated it, absolutely hated what he did to her. 

"Except those things on his hips." 

"The ferns?"

"Yeah."

Alicia just couldn't help herself, those were actually her favorite of his collection, "They're okay."

"James is right though, how does this kid manage to look so good in everything?"

"It's a blessing, I guess," Harry said as he poked his head into the room. 

Alicia rolled her eyes, "Do you happen to show up wherever people are talking about you?"

"I'm like one of those genies, just got to rub me the right way." He winked.

"That doesn't even make sense."

"I think you mean like one of those Bloody Mary things." Ned thought out loud, "Like you compliment Harry Styles three times in a row and he'll show up at your door"

"Every girls' dream come true," Alicia said in an exasperated tone. 

Harry chuckled, "I'd have a lot of frequent flyer miles."

"I don't think you could fly? Wouldn't it be more of a Santa Clause type of deal?" Al asked. 

"You think, mate? Does Saint Nick actually use magic or what...wait...would I be a wizard!?!" 

Alicia brought her hand to her forehead, "Are you serious?"

"You don't joke about Christmas, Ali."

"Ali?" Ned asked with a smirk upon his stubbled face.

"No, not the time" She quickly waved him off.

Ned shrugged, "Well, I'll have the final cut ready for you in a few hours."

Alicia nodded, "Sounds good."

Harry motioned towards the door and mouthed, "Lunch?"

Hesitantly she nodded her head once in agreement, "I'll see you later, Ned."

"Cheers, mate," Harry said, saluting Ned even though the editor paid him absolutely no mind. 

As they walked into the hallway Alicia felt her heart drop into her stomach. She hadn't been ready to face him yet. To be quite honest, she wasn't sure she was ever going to be. But, here she was.   
She avoided looking at him, but eventually when they were about to turn a corner, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. 

"Okay, spill."

"Spill what?"

He sighed, "Don't play coy, Ali. It's not becoming."

"I'm not playing coy." She said, leaning against a large trunk of equipment. Her feet hurt from the heels she had foolishly chosen to wear that morning. Alicia didn't want to admit it was for Harry, but they totally were, and he was very appreciative of them from his purposeful stare as she had slyly walked in front of him. 

"Then?" He replied, sitting on the trunk, his large hands resting in between his mantis-like legs. 

"I'm just as confused as you are." She admitted, not wanting to turn to look at him, "Maybe even more so. You know, I've never done this whole type of thing."

"What type of thing?" He asked, letting go of her arm and turning to face her. 

"The whole hookup thing." 

"What makes you think I'm used to hooking up?" Alicia simply stared at him, making Harry huff, "So that's the kind of guy you think I am?"

"Am I wrong?"

Harry sighed and shook out his recently trimmed hair, "I don't know. I'm not going to lie to you, because why should I?"

She shrugged, "I don't care about your past." Okay, she did a little. But that was then, and this...well this is now. Right now he was sitting next to her asking her what they were going to do about them. 

"So..." He trailed off, "What are we doing?"

Alicia's shoulders slumped, "I really just..." She trailed off, tired of saying she didn't know. She did know. She had fallen for fucking Harry Styles, and it seemed like he had fallen for her as well. At least, for now. 

"Does it matter?" He said, intertwining his hand in hers, he grasped it firmly and she felt a jolt through her body at his touch. 

She shook her head, "I don't think it does."

He leaned over and lightly pressed his warm lips against her cheek, "Good."

Alicia sighed though, trying to think clearly, "But it should, right?"

Harry leaned back and looked at her, "Should it?"

"I'm not saying we should like, get married, but what are we? Are we just...hooking up? Are we dating? Are we..."

"I'm only here for another day," Harry said almost inaudibly, his shoulders slightly slumping.

"I know," Alicia whispered.

"And then...and then I'm touring, Alicia. It's just not..."

"Fair." She said, completing his thought. 

"It's not fair to you, I mean...I'm just...I'm going to be gone, you know? And you'll..."

"I'll be here."

"You'll be here." He repeated.

"You'll know where to find me." She smiled sadly.

"Yeah."

They stayed quiet for a second, letting the inevitable end of their short-lived tryst sink in. 

"Well," Harry said, getting up from the trunk and clapping his hands, "We shouldn't dwell on what could've been. It's far better to live in the present." He said, offering one of his callused hands to Alicia, "Wouldn't you agree?"

She knew that in taking his hand she would be accepting the fact that there might not be much more than the five days they would share together. 

But then she thought about that whole cliche saying she'd typically roll her eyes at, you know the one, "If you love something set it free, if it's yours it'll come back", okay, not the precise words, but the sentiment was there. She certainly didn't love him (Well, she really hoped she didn't), but if he felt just a little bit of what she did, then she had no doubt that they'd meet again long after these five days were over. Regardless of distance, jobs, tours, or fame. 

So she took his hand and nodded, "Yeah," and with that, she knew that whatever happened next, whether it be disappointment or heartbreak, it was totally and completely on her because she had known from the beginning that they only had five days. 

\---

After they had eaten a light lunch, being as discrete as possible about the developments in their now not so professional relationship, Harry had gone back to his dressing room to await a delivery. It was genius. He hadn't consulted James or Alicia, but he knew they would be appreciative of his comical genius. And if not he could just pay the delivery guys to take it back and donate it to someone who truly needed it, right? Win-win all around. 

"Hey, uh, something's come 'round back for you." Said one of the stage hands as they ran past his room, probably on their own mission.

Harry immediately looked up, only to see a flash of blue scurry past the doorway, "Thanks, mate!" he yelled down the hall, but the stage hand was already gone. "Quick." He muttered as he ran his fingers through his hair twice and flipped on his sunnies to go outside. 

He thought it incredibly clever, really. The whole stunt he had planned out meticulously, and in typical Harry fashion, he was just so pleased with himself for coming up with such a comical skit. So much so that he was already chuckling to himself as they were lowering it out of the truck, "Oi!" He yelled to the delivery men, "You think you can manage to fit that through so many doorways?"

"We've had stranger requests." The older of the two said as he began lifting the back door of the truck.

"Yikes." Harry said, his mouth in a grimace, "I don't even know what to say to that."

"First time we deliver to a stage though." The younger one says as he gets up on the platform to start lowering the large item off of the truck.

"Well, at least it's a first."

"Through the doors then?" Asked the older one, pushing back his hair as he struggled with gripping the large item.

"All the way to the dressing room, it'll say HS on the door."

"HS? This delivery is for Mick Greenberg." 

"Gotta have a pseudonym, you never know, mate."

Both men shrugged, clearly not caring who the delivery was for as long as they could finally just put it down. 

Harry, with a smile still plastered upon his face, began walking behind them down the narrow hallway back to his dressing room. It was only about two hours before the show began, he was sure he could get everything together by then.  
\---  
She heard laughter, an incessant amount. Alicia knew that so much laughter coming from the direction of Harry's room could only mean trouble. What else could it possibly mean, after all?  
Alicia gathered her things before taking a deep breath, she was just going to stop by Harry's dressing room before heading to the main stage. It was about fifteen minutes until show time anyway, so they could probably walk over together. That is if he hadn't done some asinine thing to make more work for her. 

But then she shook her head and wanted to slap herself. How could she even want to walk with him, on purpose...

She couldn't possibly be actually falling for Harry. No, she had to know better. He was leaving. What they had was a one-time thing, she had done it before. He had certainly done it before. They were both adults with careers that currently dictated their lives, they couldn't become so dim-witted over a little fling. She knew better. At least, she thought she did. She could handle a fling, she wasn't clingy and she clearly knew what to expect at the end of these five days. Harry was hopping on a plane back to England, and she...well she was back to attempting to pitch an idea at the weekly staff meeting. It was as simple as that. 

"What the hell?" She mumbled as she approached Harry's dressing room, there was a camera being set up in front of the door and she could hear Harry talking excitedly inside. She shook her head, this was not going to end well.

"No! Ali! You're not supposed to be here yet." Harry said as soon as he saw her outside the door. He quickly came out and try to shield her from whatever it was that he had set up inside.

"So this is the delivery you had planned?" She tried getting on the tips of her toes to look over Harry's shoulder but consequently fell over and yelped.

"I've got you," Harry said as she fell onto his chest. 

She took in his alarmingly familiar scent for a split second before pushing off of him and slapping his hands, "Don't do that in public." She said in a harsh whisper.

"Prevent you from falling?"

"You literally just hugged me to your chest!"

"You fell onto my chest, all I did was catch you," Harry said, a smirk upon his face. 

Alicia looked around her to see if anyone had noticed, but luckily it seemed as if no one had. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

She cleared her throat and quickly tried to compose herself, "Anyways, what is all this? All I hear from James this morning is that "Harry's got a delivery coming in at three" and that you haven't even told him what you're up to."

"Well, it's not ready yet."

"I'm asking what it is, not whether it's ready yet or not."

"Why, so you can stop it if you don't like it?"

"So I can evaluate whether or not it's appropriate for TV," Alicia said sternly as she pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. 

"Have you always been this tense?"

"Excuse me?"

Harry took the liberty of closing the small gap between them, and just ever so slightly touched the back of her palm with his index finger, immediately sending a shock wave through her entire being. Seeing the very apparent reaction, Harry smiled to himself and continued, "I mean, doesn't it get boring being this put together? Haven't you ever just...let loose?" he asked a now bewildered Alicia.

"Yeah, I have, and look at where it's gotten me." She says, pointedly looking at him and taking a step back. 

"Are you saying..."

"All I'm saying is that you're not putting anything on TV until I approve it, and that's final."  
Harry's lips never unfurled from that dimpled smirk, infuriating Alicia even more, "I'm serious" she warned. 

"You'll get a look at it right before showtime, okay? Like fifteen minutes before." He saw her about to fight him on his negotiation so he held one hand up to stop her from interrupting, "Look, if you don't like it, you can cancel it. Okay? Is that fair? Just give me until then to finish it up and get everything ready."

Alicia sighed, slightly shaking her head, "Fine, whatever. I'll be back fifteen minutes before. But I'm serious, if I don't like it, it's not being aired."

"I'm a man of my word."

"Uhuh."

"Honest." He said peering into her eyes, "I would never break a promise."

"Right, well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing then."

Harry chuckled, "You're curious, aren't you?"

"I just don't want you to do some ridiculous thing on live TV."

"You afraid I'll make an arse out of myself?"

"No, you do that regularly, I'm just afraid you'll do something that'll get us fined or taken off the air."

"Such little faith."

"Such little promise." She retorted.

"Ouch. You always go right for the jugular."

She shrugged, "Don't hate the player, Styles, hate the game."

"What do you know about the game, Mendez?" He said, daring to step closer.

She just couldn't help herself, didn't seem she ever could around him. For once she was the one smirking, and as she took just a half step towards him, her nose almost grazing his, she firmly said, "I invented it."

Somehow she had managed to forget her paranoia about who was watching and what was happening around her, all she could think about was the fact that if she just leaned a tiny bit closer she would-

"Ali?"

"Yeah?"

"As much as I enjoy this, and believe you me, I do, but I believe you're standing a little too close for people to believe we only interact on a professional level."

It was almost as if Alicia's entire body turned a deep red from the embarrassment, she was totally out of line. For Harry to have to call her out, well, that was just bad. 

"Ahem." She coughed, nonchalantly taking more than a few steps back, "I will see you later."

Harry nodded, "Later it is, I'll be keeping score."

She rolled her eyes and turned to go on her way, cursing herself for getting sloppy. She knew better, now she just had to act as she usually did.

\---

If it could not already be inferred, Alicia was not one for surprises. So when she walked into Harry's dressing room exactly fifteen minutes before the cameras starting rolling and simply said, "No," it was really not much of a shock to Harry. He knew she would do this. 

Yet he still couldn't help utter, "What do you mean no!? You didn't even hear the concept yet."

Alicia simply couldn't fathom how in the hell Harry had managed to fit a queen-sized mattress into his dressing room, or why he would ever think such a thing would be funny. But Harry was Harry, that she had learned quickly. 

"You said that if I said no that would be the end of it."

"Okay but you literally just walked into the room and said no. Well, okay to be precise you said 'Harry what in the hell?' and then proceeded with your typical 'No'."  
"What's the concept?"

Harry perked up at that, "You actually want to hear it."

"Well it's fourteen minutes before the show starts, so yeah I'd like to know what your thought process was before I tell one of the camera guys to get that thing out of here." She said, pointing all of the equipment right outside the door.

"Right then, so, you know how Corden introduces the guests every night by doing that whole knocking on the door to our dressing room thing?"

Alicia nodded, knowing fully well that was one of James' favorite things on the show, which is why he had integrated it into every show.

"Okay," Harry continued, "I was thinking that it would be hilarious" he chuckled nervously, hoping her passive expression would change soon, "If when they knock on my door I don't respond. And when someone finally opens the door and they pan in, they see I turned this into my bedroom."

"Since you've been here the entire week," Alicia said without missing a beat.

"Exactly," Harry replied, enthusiastically hoping that Alicia was actually thinking this was one of his brighter ideas. 

She nodded, "I'd wear a bathrobe, though. Tie the whole thing together and what not."

"Wait, so you're approving my skit."

She sighed, "Yes, Harry, I'm approving your skit."

He hugged her in sheer joy, and she didn't fight back. In fact, she had stopped resisting him a while ago, hadn't she? 

Alicia pulled back for a brief second, incredibly tempted to press her lips against his. She couldn't deny that she wanted to, not anymore. But alas, it was not the time, "We have ten minutes before the show starts." She said in a low tone of voice.

Harry nodded, "Thanks, Ali."

She smiled wearily, "At least you got to pitch something this week."

"You wanted to?"

She shrugged, "Only the entire time I've been here."

He furrowed his brow, "Why haven't you?"

"I don't know, I just...it's kind of..."

"Scary?"

"No."

"You can say it's scary, it won't take anything away from you."

She stayed quiet for a mere moment before admitting, "Yeah, it's kind of scary, but it's not just that. I just...I always get cut off right before I'm going to say something. Or I get assigned to do something else." Alicia said pointedly looking at Harry.

"Are you blaming this on me?"

She smirked, "Unfortunately, this is something that I can't blame on you, it's all on me. I have to get it together. I mean, James isn't scary. You actually got a skit approved without even running anything by him, I mean, I can too." She looked up at him, "Right?"

"I mean, I wouldn't go rogue."

"Because that's clearly a rockstar thing I don't understand right?"

Harry's lips kinked into her favorite cocky smile, "I'm a rockstar now?"

"I think you've earned the right to the title."

"Well," He said, pressing a hand to her cheek, "I think you've earned the right to call some of the shots around here. You're bloody brilliant, don't hold yourself back."

She averted her gaze, still mortified that she had confessed this to Harry, only to see her watch and realize they only had five more minutes to get everything together, which sent her into a panic, "Alright! Enough about me, let's get this all together. It's almost showtime."

Harry nodded, grabbing her hand before she inevitably ran off, "Thanks for hearing me out."

Alicia looked at him before squeezing his hand, "Thanks for the pep talk."

And before she ran off once more she made the mistake of looking back at Harry. And she saw it, she saw that look that so many people talk about in ridiculous love stories and movies. You know the one, the one where his eyes sparkle and brim with endearment and pure joy? Well, that's when she officially took down the time, because Alicia knew that for the first time, she was actually in love. And boy did that scare the shit out of her because she knew that he had to feel the same way too.

\---

Alicia had dated before, you know, had crushes, had "boyfriends" and even some "Well I think we're dating" scenarios, you know, all of that fun stuff. Sometimes she totally crushed on someone who wouldn't even give her the time of day. But to feel this, this sinking yet uplifting feeling constantly whether she was around Harry or not? This has yet to have happened, and honestly, the last person she ever expected it to happen with was him. 

"Oh my god, Harry was like....to die for tonight. I know you don't care, but dear god." 

Alicia looked up, clearly shaken out of whatever stupor she was in by Milo and his ridiculous and constant adoration of Harry.

"What?" She asked, clearly distracted. She couldn't even hide the fact anymore, she was a complete mess. 

"James asked me to give this to you." He said handing her a folder, "Why are you here?" He said, looking around at the now-empty audience seats. "The show ended ten minutes ago."

She looked up to see, that yes, in fact, the show had finished. The crew was vacuuming and James was long gone, so was Harry, probably. 

Again she felt her stomach sink at the fact that she may not run into him, "Pathetic" she mumbled to herself at her dismay. 

"What was that?" Milo asked, smirking. He knew she was losing it, and he relished every second of it. Perfect Alicia was slowly coming apart at the seams, he didn't know why, but he quite enjoyed it, it was obvious by the fake sympathy that shone across his almost leering face. 

"Nothing." 

"Whatever." Milo said with a roll of his eyes, "Just make sure you get the stuff for the party tomorrow. I put a list in that folder."

"What party?"

He put a hand on his hip, "Harry's going away party?"

"Oh," she sighed, "Right."

"What? Hate him so much you don't even want to do this small thing for him? You know our ratings were higher than ever this week."

"Yeah, yeah."

"You think you're so cool because you're like over the whole celebrity and famous thing, don't you?'

Alicia rubbed her temples, "I'm so not in the mood, Milo."

"Well, I'm just saying, it's getting old. You're such an ice queen. I bet Harry might not even want to come back because of the way you treated him this week."

"What?"

"You think I didn't notice how you totally avoided him while he was talking to you? It's like you didn't even have the common decency to look him in the eye."

"I-"

"Listen, I know I come off too strongly sometimes, but you do too. You've got to at least pretend to be nice, especially to the guest stars."

Alicia wanted to say something snarky back, but she just didn't have the energy. And besides, it seemed like this was coming for a good place, at least she hoped so. 

Milo continued since Alicia didn't stop him, "Look, I know we're not friends so sorry for totally just criticizing the hell out of you, but fucking hell Alicia, Harry is a really cool guy. Bieber was a douche-"

"Wait, what!?" Alicia exclaimed, "You're always on my case about the stupid Bieber thing."

He shrugged, "That's not the point."

"What's the point then?'"

"The point is that... I just...you're just so...I don't know. you seriously just seem like you think like you're better than everyone else. You always keep to yourself, you never want to work with any of us, and to top it off you think you can do anything you want because James always has your back. I mean look at the shit you've pulled, you're notorious."

"It's not that I think I'm better than you," She said rather quietly, "I just don't know what to contribute half the time. And it's not that I don't want to work with you, it's that I have fifty other things to do in the day and don't have time for your group projects. Do you think I don't want to try coming up with a skit? It's not that easy."

Milo shrugged, "Make time. Let people know you're a team player. And be nice ice queen, you can't get through life being difficult."

"You've done pretty well for yourself."

He smirked, "I'm special."

"Yeah, whatever."

"No, but really, look I know we're not always cool, and we're not going to be-I mean this talk totally doesn't mean that we're like friends-But get out of your comfort zone. Be nice once in a while, it won't kill you."

"Same goes to you."

"Hey, this is my personality. I'm just a snarky bitch, sorry not sorry." He said waving his hand as he started walking away, "Get the stuff for the party, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved back, turning to walk away with a rather unexpected smile on her face. Yet, instead of turning right down the hall, she turned left and took the long way back to her office to collect her things. Of course, she had to go walk past Harry's dressing room, and perhaps she was kind of hoping that he'd be in even though he'd probably be long gone by now.  
Yet, low and behold Alicia saw his door ajar with the light still on and knew that he still had to be in. But was disappointed to find that he was not actually in his room when she peeped in.   
She went in anyways, seeing his phone on his dresser, and knowing that he was going to come back soon, and they should probably prep for tomorrow anyways. At least, that's what she told herself. 

Alicia put her bag down upon the mattress used for the skit earlier today, and seeing as his couch was covered in clothing and other things he was undoubtedly sorting through to pack, she decided to sit on the bed. It was covered in some tacky red silk cover with embroidered roses. Harry had of course gotten pajamas and a robe that matched it, all of this on short notice. She smirked, wondering how he managed to pull all these things off. 

Tonight the show was astounding, Harry had transformed entirely, telling jokes right and left, even performed an encore song. She didn't know what it was, but something was different. Perhaps he just lost all his nerves, knew that he only had one more show before his residency was over. Regardless, out of all the nights so far, this was going to be a hard one to top.

"Get lost, did we?" 

Alicia turned towards the door to find Harry, with that same stupid look in his eye, smirking at her.

"Didn't get lost, simply came to give you some stuff for tomorrow." She said, feeling all of the color drain from her face. She had to admit, it was a nice change of pace from turning as red as a tomato.

"Ah, yes, tomorrow." He nodded, closing the door behind him and stuffing his large hands into his small pockets.

"Well, um, that was it." She said, placing some documents on his bed, grabbing her things, and getting up.

Harry slowly started edging towards her and the bed, his hands still in his too-tight jeans, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"Without a proper send-off?" He asked.

"What's your idea of a "proper" send-off?" She asked, willing her voice not to quiver.

Harry eyed the bed ever so blatantly and Alicia had to resist the urge of slapping him.

"No."

"Really, you're going to tell me you don't want to mess around a little bit?"

She sighed, "Is that supposed to get me in the mood? Because it's quite pretentious."

He laughed, "I'm pretentious now too?"

"Now? You mean always."

"Don't change the subject." He said, inching closer. 

"I'm not sleeping with you on this bed."

His lips curled into a devilish grin, "No one said anything about sleeping, love."

She pushed him back, trying to hold in her own laughter, "Get out of here."

"Tomorrow. But tonight-" He said, grabbing her things out of her grasp and throwing them on the mountain of his own possessions on the couch, "I'm going to stay right here, with you."  
"Just for one night?"

He smiled placing his arms around her, "Just for one night."

"So this bed was brought in with ulterior motives?"

Harry diverted his gaze, "I may have imagined a few other uses for it."

"And so you had a mattress brought in, you couldn't even ask me out to dinner and maybe take me back to your hotel room? Very reasonable."

"Are you saying you'd go?"

"You're staying at James' aren't you?"

"That's so not the point of the conversation here, Ali. Are you saying you'd go out with me?"

She shrugged, "Never hurts to ask."

"Really? What happened to this not meaning anything?"

"It doesn't."

"Really?"

"Why?" She asked, "Does it to you?"

He pulled her closer to his chest, "I can't pretend it doesn't."

She sighed.

"What? It doesn't to you?"

"It does, it does. It's just that...this is all so-"

"Messy."

"To say the least."

"We don't have to figure it out. Let's just enjoy the time we have left."

"On this bed?'

"At dinner, first."

"Then what? We go rent a room."

"A penthouse suite in the most luxurious building, I'll go all out for you."

"You don't have to do that." She said, shaking her head.

"Oh, we've changed our mind, have we?"

"Like I'm going to be seen in public with you. That's totally what I need right now, being photographed with Harry fucking Styles."

Harry laughed loudly, she could feel his chest vibrate from the proximity, "That's great, so we could have a lay, but I can't buy you dinner afterwards?"

"No one said anything about a "lay"." She said pointedly.

"Virgin?"

She blushed, "That's none of your business."

"So you are?"

"Oh my god."

"You're not?" Harry said unabashedly.

"Does it matter?"

Harry shrugged, "I could care less. I just like watching you sweat, Mendez."

"That's so not funny."

"Neither is you shooting me down for a real date just because I'm famous."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh please, like you can't get another date at the drop of a hat."

"But I only want one."

"Harry." She pleaded, "Let's just go home. I don't have the energy to be playing these games, it's been a long day."

He leaned in, gently brushing his lips against her ear, "I thought you liked these kinds of games."

"No." She said, begging her body not to quiver beneath his touch.

"That's too bad," he said, slowing pressing her onto the bed she so blatantly protested against, "Because I do."

She couldn't help it, her body automatically responded to his touch. She breathed in his earthy smell and felt her heart drop. He had managed to lay her down upon that cheap satin-covered bed and she absolutely couldn't imagine a place she'd rather be than right there, beneath him. 

Alicia's lips gently pressed against his neck, she felt the goosebumps rise within an instant upon his entire body. His pulse skyrocketed, and she felt him grow incredibly hard upon her leg. He moaned as she lightly bit him, his grasp around her waist tightening. She relished it, was totally infatuated with getting such a hot reaction from the boy who drove her absolutely mad. 

She wanted to explore every inch of him, trace the ferns she adored so much, press firm kisses upon his sharp jawline. 

As if he could read her mind, Harry began pressing upon her more fervently. She could feel as he slid his hands between her legs, going up her skirt and positioning fingers and thumb the way he knew she'd enjoy it. She knew he wanted more, and she was more than willing to give it to him. For once, she simply didn't care. 

She moaned as his fingers pressed into her, and he silenced her by pressing his mouth roughly onto hers. She almost lost it. 

Pushing his hand off of her, she threw him onto the bed, a fire in her eyes, and mounted him unabashedly. There was no room or time for embarrassment between them, she realized. 

She began pulling back his shirt and fumbling with his belt. Harry, absolutely lost in the moment, simply began holding onto her hips, pressing her down against his hardness, wishing there were no more layers between them.

Both of them so engulfed in the sudden passion that arose between them that they didn't hear the knock at the door, nor said door opening. It was only when they heard the unmistakable click of a camera phone that they realized they had been intruded upon.

"So that's why you don't play nice." Milo said, smugly standing in the doorway, "Can't let anyone know you're screwing the celebrity guests, can you?"

And within an instant said passion dissipated, as did all of Alicia's hope and dreams for a future in Hollywood.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, admittedly, Alicia had perhaps gone a little overboard when seeing Milo. She would never admit it, especially to Harry, but it was simple: She had clearly overreacted. 

As it was, she knew that she would never live down her little, whatever it was that she had, with Harry. That in itself was enough to haunt her for the rest of her career, that she was sure of. Especially since Milo had snapped that picture. Yet, Harry believed that did not warrant her running after Milo, much less tackling him to the ground. She wouldn't dwell on what followed, mostly because it all happened so fast it seemed like a blur, but Harry still wouldn't let it go, even though it happened, like, fifteen hours ago.

"You're like a bloody quarter back, Ali! Who would've thought?" He looked at her up and down, smirking all the while. 

She looked at him pointedly, "Shouldn't you be packing?"  
"Don't be mean."

Alicia sighed, trying her best to drown out his pointless banter. While she was fully aware of the fact that it was Harry's last day in LA, she was also conscious of the fact that she got incredibly lucky last night.  
Upon slamming Milo to the ground, she pinned his arm and wiggled his phone out of his grasp. He had it unlocked, making her quickly plotted plan that much easier. Except that when she accessed his pictures, she realized that the only one he had managed to snap was completely ruined by his own thumb. All she could see in the corner were hers and Harry's feet dangling off that terribly dressed bed. You couldn't even tell it was her, you could of course tell it was him by the ridiculous Gucci boots, but that was not her main concern.  
Milo had screamed and yelled, you know, considering that when she toppled him onto the ground she had managed to hurt him incredibly. Who would of thought? She was a small thing, as Harry liked to imply, and truly she didn't even think she would've hurt him that badly. It was the adrenaline rush, probably.  
Harry continued laughing as he walked out of the parking lot with her, his arm slightly brushing hers. The electricity she felt from the contact made her feel a weird mixture of shame and excitement. Then again, that's what she had been feeling all week, the shame much more so apparent though. But after last night, after almost sealing the deal so to say with Harry, she realized that the excitement now outweighed the shame. Why should she be ashamed in the first place? She should be ecstatic! Any girl in her right mind would be, wouldn't she? She knew that the last four days she had spent hating not only Harry, but herself, were pointless. She figured she should at the very least confess her attraction to Harry, not only to James, but to Harry as well, before word got out about what had happened last night.  
James might be the easier one to talk to, admittedly. Simply because she knew he had been rooting for them from the start. Sure, okay, it was inappropriate to mix work and her personal life like this, but when hadn't she to be completely honest? She lived at James' house for a good month at one point last year. She babysat his kids and helped with the dishes when she came over for dinner. The truth about where she stood with Harry was the least she owed him.  
So she was a little apprehensive, why shouldn't she be. Every day she'll probably hear some jab about it, every time a celebrity guest comes there will be chatter about her wanting to screw him, and whenever Harry comes around again for a visit, without a doubt she'll never hear the end of it. But she chose her fate long ago, and now she's finally come to accept it. Whatever happens between her and Harry happens, but these past five days, well, they were unforgettable.  
"You going to talk to James?" Harry asked, stuffing his car keys into his back pocket.  
"Yeah."  
"You think he already heard?"  
"Did you tell him?"  
Harry shook his head, "Took a cold shower and went straight to bed last night, didn't say a peep."  
"Cold shower?"  
Harry shrugged, "Left me in a tough spot, Ali."  
She rolled her eyes, "Well we were interrupted, that's not on me."  
"What if we weren't?" He says, not looking at her. The smile had fallen off his face as well, she noted.  
"If we weren't...well, who knows." She shrugged.  
"Would we have?"  
"Probably."  
He smirked, "Yeah?"  
"Let it go."  
"No, now I can't let it go." He said, tugging at her hand, "Now all I want is-"  
She slapped him away, "We're too busy today to be doing this."  
"Well, we wouldn't have been short handed if you hadn't tackled poor Milo."  
"Poor Milo? You're kidding right?"  
"He wasn't going to do anything."  
"You don't know that."  
"The picture was unrecognizable anyways."  
"That's not the point."  
"He hasn't told James?"  
Alicia shook her head, "I imagine not."  
"I don't think he'd be too surprised that you're behind this."  
"What?"  
"That you caused this whole mess. You know, considering your reputation with celebrity guests."  
"Then no one would be surprised if I give you a black eye?"  
"It would be more believable than rumors of you and I being together."  
She looked at him sharply, "Why do you say that?"  
"Because people who know you would know that you would never stoop this low."  
"Stop."  
"I'm serious. No one would ever believe that you fell for me, so please stop worrying about it."  
"I'm not worrying."  
"Yes you are, the little spot between your eyebrows is wrinkled and your mouth is all pouty."  
She rubbed her forehead and tilted her head, "How did you know-"  
"I like you." He said matter of factly, "I like you a lot."  
"So you notice things."  
"I do."  
They paused for a second outside the door to the studio. The sun was barely beginning to rise, and she knew the crew would start coming in soon, but it didn't stop her from pushing back a few loose tendrils of hair off of Harry's face.  
He grabbed her hand as it brushed his skin, and she didn't resist. In fact, she leaned in, allowing her lips to graze his.  
It was seconds later, when she pulled back and he made a pained face at the loss of contact, that she told him, "I like you too."  
Small as it was, this moment, it was everything to her.  
\---  
"So it was just a twisted ankle?" James asked as he watched Alicia nervously push her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose.  
She nodded, "Yeah, happened last night after the show ended."  
"And how do you know? Why would he tell you of all people. I thought you two weren't friendly."  
"We're not, I just happened to be around last night."  
"Oh?"  
"Yeah."  
"What about Harry?"  
"What about him?"  
"Was he around too?"  
Alicia sighed, as much as she wanted this meeting with James to be as short as possible, she relented and took a seat in one of the two plush chairs in front of his desk.  
James continued his interrogation, "He didn't come in til late last night."  
"So? Maybe he was out to dinner with someone?"  
"Do you know who?"  
"What would I possibly know about Harry's life?"  
James looked at her with a painfully obvious expression, telling her that he knew exactly what was going on and that it was time to finally give it up. She didn't even know why she was resisting, she had already made up her mind that she was going to tell him. Pride is a funny thing, isn't it?  
Alicia sighed, "Fine."  
"Fine what?"  
"I-I get along with Harry."  
"Okay, so you two have been getting along, what of it?" James said, playing dumb.  
"We've been getting along...too well."  
"How do you get along too well with someone?"  
Alicia felt like she was going to scream. She knew what James was doing, knew that he was making her suffer since he had already told her many times that she and Harry would become fast friends.  
"Okay, fine, look." She said taking a breath before continuing, "Milo twisted his ankle last night because of me."  
"Because of you?" He said, genuinely surprised. This was not the twist he expected this conversation to take.  
"I um...I tackled him."  
James rubbed his temples, trying to compose himself before speaking.  
Alicia continued, "I really didn't mean to."  
"You sure like to make a muck of things."  
"It's my thing, isn't it?"  
"What did he do, then? He must've done something."  
Alicia nodded, "He uh, he took a picture of me and Harry."  
"Doing what."  
Alicia felt her face flush and attempted to clear her throat to no avail, "We were uh, we were..."  
"You were?"  
"We were kissing."  
James' jaw dropped, "You two were snogging!? Bloody hell!"  
Alicia said nothing, simply covered her face with her hands. She couldn't look at James, not until she could compose herself.  
"So this is a thing?" He asked, trying to calm down. James was downright giddy though, Alicia almost hated him for it. But then she thought of the alternative and realized this was okay. Embarrassing as hell, but better he be happy than mad.  
"I-I don't know."  
"What do you mean you don't know?"  
"I haven't even known him for a week yet, you need to calm down." She said, trying to reason with him.  
"You've known him for as long as you've known me!" He paused for a second to think about and yelled out, "That's years!"  
"James, just because we interacted briefly does not mean we "know" each other."  
"Well, you do now." He said very smugly.  
"James." She pleaded.  
"You can't let him leave her without defining what it is you two have."  
"I don't even want to define what we have."  
"So this is on you?"  
"No!"  
"It is."  
"He doesn't want a serious relationship. Look at all the girls he's dated."  
"No, that's what his agents want you to think. Gives him an edge, you know?"  
"Like I haven't heard that before." Alicia said, rolling her eyes.  
"I'm serious!"  
"Oh, so all of the hookups and all of the girls have been a lie."  
"Uhhh."  
"See, you can't even give me a straight answer."  
"Do you care?"  
She shook her head, "I don't. What good is it being tied down at such a young age? Good for him that he's gotten to date around. It solidifies his rock star status and all that sexist crap."  
"Then?"  
"Then what?"  
"What's the problem?"  
"There is no problem. You're the one making it into the problem."  
"Alicia, darling, you're talking to me. I know you."  
She sighed, "This is truly none of your concern, and I find it highly inappropriate that you're forcing me to talk about this with you right now."  
"Oh, do you know?" He said snarkily, "I find it highly inappropriate you've been canoodling with a guest star, but you don't see me giving you a pink slip."  
"Maybe you should."  
"Alicia."  
"James, I'm serious. I'm not this kind of person. I just want to do my job, but-"  
"But?"  
"He makes it so difficult."  
"Ah yes, the Styles effect."  
"Get out of here."  
James chuckled, "You think I'm making fun? I'm not. It's a true phenomenon. Ask any fan."  
"Not a fan."  
They stayed quiet for a beat, letting it all sink in. Alicia could hear James' stomach gurgle, knew he hadn't had breakfast yet. She was going to suggest they end this conversation and get something together, but James of course had to ruin it.  
He broke the silence with the question that had been lingering since the moment Alicia said that she and Harry had kissed,"Just a snog?"  
"Stop."  
"Well, was it just a snog, or a snog." He said, leaning forward on his elbows.  
"What does that even mean?"  
"Was it more than once."  
She nodded hesitantly.  
"Oh, spicy indeed."  
"Please stop."  
"I'm trying to help."  
"You're trying to gossip."  
"Would you rather I ask Harry?" He said, slowly batting his eyelashes at her.  
"No!"  
"Then?"  
"It was more than once, and I don't know...I just, I do..."  
"Fancy him." James said, trying not to smile too widely.  
"Yes, I...fancy him...but it's so much more complicated than that."  
"Because today is his last day here."  
"Yes."  
"What if it wasn't?"  
She shrugged, "I don't know. I don't think it would change much. I might not have kissed him so fast to be honest."  
"You would've taken it slower?"  
"Yeah."  
"You don't think that's a sign?"  
"Of what."  
"You're not this dense."  
As she stayed silent, James took it as a cue to continue, "You wanted to take it slow because you saw it going somewhere."  
She breathed in, but didn't reply.  
"You don't want to admit it to yourself, because I know, you've built up this reputation of not being impressed by celebrities and of being a serious hard-worker. A real stick in the mud." She frowned, making him chuckle, "It's not an insult, I promise. But you're so young, you're both young. You're too young to be taking everything so seriously."  
"That sounds so counter-productive. I mean, I just want to....you know....be taken seriously. So if I'm serious, then that's good?"  
"Why do you think you wouldn't be taken seriously?"  
She shrugged.  
"Look, all I know is you're bloody brilliant. You're smart, witty, you're just lacking one thing-"  
"Common sense?"  
He ignored her, "You have to trust yourself."  
"Oh come on."  
"Yeah it's cliche, but it's true. I bet you've got a million brilliant ideas in that head of yours, yet I haven't heard any in all of the years you've worked here."  
"I-"  
"You think you get out shined by Milo and the lot of them, that's what it is." He said wagging a finger in her face.  
"I just...what if I pitch something and it's terrible?"  
"What if it's amazing? You won't know if you don't try. And I'd say the same advice applies to your current situation with Harold, doesn't it?"  
"If I say yes will you let me pitch something at the next meeting?"  
"If I say yes will you give Harry a chance?"  
"This is blackmail."  
"But it's not because I know you want to do it regardless, don't you."  
Alicia extended her hand, "Alright, shake on it."  
James firmly grasped her hand and chuckled, "Glad to have been of service."  
\---  
Harry had been busy the entirety of the day. He had spent the last six hours running from the writer's room, to the stage, and back again. He wanted his last show to be absolute perfection, to go out with a bang if you will. But he was so busy, that it hadn't crossed his mind until about four in the afternoon, that he hadn't seen Alicia in the entirety of the day.  
While it was not rare due to their hectic schedules in the midst of the chaos that is planning this live show, he felt his chest tighten slightly at the fact that he had fallen into a routine. He had found some kind of normalcy, one that included Alicia, in this once again temporary space. He hated the fact that he allowed himself to get attached, to feel so incredibly comfortable. But at the same time, he knew that it was futile fighting it. He always laid down some kind of roots wherever he went, it's who he is. It was better than trying not to, after all. What kind of life would you lead trying to be so disconnected from everyone and everything?  
"How's it going H?"  
He snapped up to see James smirking from the doorway and immediately knew that he had found out. James didn't even have to say a word, Harry simply asked, "Who told you?"  
And James responded, "Your beloved."  
Harry's face turned slightly red, "Alicia did?"  
"Everything."  
"So?"  
James shrugged, "I'm just a bit hurt is all."  
"Why?"  
"You couldn't tell me yourself?"  
Harry sighed, "It happened so fast, mate."  
"Did it?"  
Harry shrugged, "Yeah."  
"So fast you couldn't tell your mate, even though he had called it from the beginning?"  
"Really? You came in here to say I told you so?"  
"No, I came to ask if you're almost done, I mean it's almost time for the show. But also I came in to say I TOLD YOU SO!"  
"Alright, go ahead mate, get it all out."  
"Really!? You couldn't tell me because it all happened so fast!? Rubbish!" James said waving his arms in a frenzy as he paced around the room, "You didn't want to tell me because-"  
"I knew you would get this way?"  
"Exactly! Because you knew I was right! God damn it! I called it! I have to call the missus and let her know-"  
"No!"  
"Harry, we had a bet going. I finally fucking won, I have to-"  
"James, come on."  
"What? I was rooting for you all along!"  
"Julia was rooting against me then?"  
"No, she just didn't think it would happen so fast."  
"What did you bet on then?" Harry asked.  
"She bet that you two would realize your feelings for each other after you had left and it was too late to do anything."  
"Ever the tragic love story, isn't it?"  
James nodded.  
"And so," Harry said looking at his trusted friend up and down, "what did you bet?"  
"Five days."  
"Five days?"  
"I told her to give it just five days, and you two would realize it."  
"What?"  
"The thing I've been saying all this time."  
"That we're-"  
"Meant for each other." James said, finishing Harry's sentence.  
Harry shook his head, "I wouldn't say that."  
James' eyebrow did the obnoxious cocking thing that Harry hated and he knew James was saying "Really?" Without even having to actually say it.  
"Can we just not make a big deal out of it? This is why no one tells you anything." Harry said, getting up from his seat and gathering his things.  
"Ouch."  
Harry looked up before exiting the room and stated, "You lost."  
"What?"  
"You lost the bet."  
"What? Why? It was five days."  
Harry smiled, "It was two."  
"Two!? Harry, wait! I want to know-"  
But Harry was already half way down the hallway before James came out of the room screaming like a mad man behind him.  
Like he was going to tell Corden everything, yeah right.  
\---  
And so, with every bit of strength she could muster, Alicia found herself knocking on the door to Milo's office attempting to give some kind of apology about what had happened the night before.  
Yes, Milo was completely and totally in the wrong, but Alicia was as well. She figured if she at least cleared the air they could just move on and continue being, at the very least, just co-workers.  
She walked in to find Milo at his desk on the phone, talking in an obnoxiously loud manner.  
"All I'm saying is that this will totally clash with the background. You need to find him another suit."  
Alicia tried her hardest to restrain herself from making a smart comment about Milo's preoccupation with Harry's suit choice for the evening, she really did. But still she had to tell him as soon as he hung up the phone, "Milo, we can't change out Harry's suit."  
"Why?" He glared.  
"He has a contract with Gucci. He has to wear each and every one of those custom-made suits."  
Milo snorted, "They're Gucci? Half of them look disgusting."  
"Dude, they look magnificent, what are you talking about!?"  
"Really!? He was wearing a pink silk suit yesterday, Alicia."  
"So!? It's artsy, and it totally suits him."  
"What, so since you two are doing the nasty, you're going to be defending every single one of his terrible fashion choices?"  
Alicia sighed, "This has nothing to do with that."  
"Really?" Why are you here then."  
Alicia's hands immediately went behind her back as she struggled to maintain her composure, "I just, I wanted to uh-"  
"Apologize?"  
"Y-yes."  
"For this?" He said pointing down to his wrapped up ankle.  
"I'm sorry."  
He waved her off, "I wasn't going to actually post the picture anywhere...I was just going to blackmail you into doing my bidding."  
"Oh, wow, I mean I totally thought you were going to do something terrible. I totally overreacted didn't I?"  
He laughed, "Look, I'm sorry too, okay? I was just kind of excited that little miss perfect wasn't so perfect after all."  
"So you had to document the moment? Do you know what would've happened if that picture had gotten out?"  
He shrugged, "Like anyone could have told that was you."  
"That's not the point."  
"Yeah, yeah. I know it's not."  
"Look, can we just...stop doing this?"  
"What?"  
'This whole beating each other down thing. You're like, super talented, and so am I. We should be working together, you know?" Alicia tried.  
Milo stayed quiet for a second before nodding, "You're right.  
"Can we call it even then?" She said extending her hand.  
"Do I get to twist your ankle?"  
Alicia laughed, "Let it go, Milo."  
"Fine, fine. We're square. Now please, for the love of god, find someone to change that background so that Harry doesn't look like an eyesore."  
"Deal."  
"And one more thing?"  
"Hmm." Alicia said, before she turned and left his office.  
"Can you get me a refill?" He said, handing her his mug.  
"Excuse me?"  
"Twisted ankle." He reminded her, "Because of you."  
"Fine, fine. How do you take it?"  
"Black."  
"Like your soul?" She mumbled.  
"What's that?"  
"Nothing." She smiled sweetly, "See you in a few."  
Alicia grinned as she walked towards the break room, it seemed like for the first time in a while, everything was going to be just fine.  
\---  
There was an indescribable energy in the air, Harry could almost taste it. He figured it was because of the fact that it was his last show, but he knew it was more than that. It was unlike anything he had every felt, it was electric. There were currents coming in waves, and his body was incredibly receptive to every one. His fingertips felt as if they were hyper-sensitive, his eyes darted back and forth. He wanted to peg it on the adrenaline rush, the one he always got pre-show. But it was that on hyper-blast. He had truly never felt quite a sensation before.  
"You ready?"  
He looked up to see Alicia smiling above him from one of the lifts above the stage. She looked radiant, absolutely resplendent. A tad concerned, yes. She had probably been watching him pace back and forth. But he paid it no mind, he was much less a mess than he was before that very first show earlier this week.  
He nodded at her, giving her a thumbs up in response.  
Today was so unlike the tumultuous first day, the one where he had felt as if it were him alone against the world. He looked up at Alicia once more, at the smile that simply got wider as he gazed at her for a few seconds longer, and knew that was no longer the case. Even if he and Alicia would only have these five days, it was enough.  
"You've got this, Styles. Don't let me down."  
He smirked and gave her a wink, knowing it was once of her very few weaknesses. How? Her knees ever so slightly shifted whenever he did such a thing.  
He could hear Alicia shifting upon the lift behind him, and he grinned to himself, "Got her again."  
As much as she hated to admit it, he knew what she felt for him. He knew exactly how to get her.  
He turned to say one more thing before the countdown to his opening monologue, but she was already coming down from her spot above him. He watched her, intrigued more than anything by the fact that she was able to manage wearing heels even when at dangerous altitudes.  
Then again, he regretted thinking such thing as he saw her begin to struggle on the way down. He had jinxed her, he was sure. But then he told himself he was being ridiculous, as he always was. But he couldn't quite turn away from her. In fact, he began inching closer.  
It wasn't as if he knew it was going to happen before it did, but as he heard the producer begin to count down from sixty, he saw Alicia's foot slip from the step and her body flail backwards.  
He made it to her before she had even realized she was falling. She hadn't managed to make a sound, not a peep. Harry could feel her heart beating rapidly though as he held her to him. They had both ended up on the floor, limbs entangled. Harry's mic and earpiece had gotten lost in the shuffle, as had one of Alicia's shoes.  
"Didn't let you down, did I?" Harry said in a pained voice, attempting to catch his breath. Small girl as she may have been, she had completely knocked the air out of him as she fell from so high upon him.  
"Oh, god." She almost cried, "Are you okay?"  
Harry nodded, "You know, the car hurt a lot less, but I'll live. What about you?"  
"I-I Oh god." She said, getting up off him and sitting upon the floor.  
"What?"  
"My wrist."  
"Did you hurt it?" He said, sitting up as well and inching towards her.  
She nodded and cursed, rubbing it, "It fucking hurts."  
He gently took her left arm and gingerly touched her wrist. She winced, but didn't cry out, "It might just be a minor sprain."  
"Thanks, Dr. Harry." She said, her lips turning upwards regardless of the pain.  
"Anytime."  
"Treatment?" She asked coyly.  
"Aw, yes." He took her hand in his and kissed her gently from the tips of her fingers to her forearm, "A couple of these a day."  
She giggled, and he could see her once concerned and pained face beginning to dissipate, "And maybe, if you're in a lot of pain, one of these." He said as he pulled her into him and placed his lips upon hers. He wanted to live in this moment, freeze it in time. The kiss was so unlike the others, he could feel warmth and light, it was almost as if the entire world stood still. And then he realized-  
"Bloody hell." He said as he pulled away, realizing that the show, in fact, had already begun.  
Alicia sat doe eyed in front of the studio audience, completely and utterly frozen. For once, Harry could tell immediately, she didn't know what to do.  
Thankfully James stepped onto the stage, laughingly approaching both Harry and Alicia, "Well, seems our guest host can truly do it all."  
Harry made an 'oops' face and smiled, "Just here to do my job is all."  
"Where can I apply for a job here!?" He heard a woman scream from the audience, and everyone laughed.  
Harry quickly whispered into James' ear, "How much did the audience see?"  
"You mean did they see Dr. Harry treating his patient?"  
Harry waved to the audience nervously as Alicia was helped up by James, "Hello everybody, we've got a great show tonight. I promise, this wasn't it." He chuckled.  
"Our head assistant, Alicia Mendez, everyone!" James said, as Alicia tried to laugh off the situation with poise. She was struggling though, Harry could see the vein popping out of her forehead, the one reserved for moment that especially infuriated her.  
"I must say, now that Ali is out here, this woman is the reason I'm able to stand in front of the lot of you every day and make you laugh. This one right here makes sure that we're all on track, on time, and of course, that we're funny." James continued.  
The audience laughed once more, appreciatively looking upon Alicia.  
"No, but truly and sincerely, thank you Ms. Mendez. And please don't sue, I promise you next time I won't make you go up onto those death traps." James took a beat before saying, "Stay tuned everyone, we'll be right back."  
The three of them stayed on stage, Harry demurely wrapping an arm around Alicia waist as the camera panned out. The audience clearly took notice.  
As soon as they were given their cue, Alicia slapped his hand away and stormed off the stage. Harry wanted to chase after her, but James held him back, "Let her cool off, mate. Trust me."  
Harry sighed, hoping that by the end of the show she hadn't run off and changed her identity just to avoid being 'the assistant who fell in love with Harry Styles'.  
\---  
Everything had gone off without a hitch, or so she had heard from Milo. They had begun and ended on time, there were no hiccups—other than the whole her falling off the lift and kissing Harry in front of the entire world thing—and Harry' suit managed to match the background perfectly. It was a great show all around.  
Yet Alicia couldn't muster the strength to face anyone or anything right now. She knew what the world must think of her, how she would be trending right at this moment. She had become what she had most feared, and there was nothing she could do about it.  
"You were right."  
Alicia turned to look behind her, cringing at the sound of his voice. He was the last person she wanted to see right now, which was why she had come up to the one spot she thought no one knew about. But of course, James had to have told Harry to come up to the roof and see if she was there, where else could she have gone after all?  
"What do you want, Harry?"  
"You were right." He repeated, coming up to where she was leaning on the railing.  
"About?"  
"Me killing it tonight."  
"Ah."  
"It was the best I've done all week."  
"Great."  
"Okay." Harry huffed, "I'm sorry."  
"You're sorry?"  
"I'm truly, truly, sorry, Ali."  
"Do you just want me to assure you it's okay? Is that why you came up here?"  
Harry turned to look at her, but she kept looking straight ahead.  
"No," he responded, "I wanted to tell you I'm sorry, but I don't regret it."  
"Oh, wow. That's cocky."  
"You know why?" She mumbled something under her breath, but Harry ignored her and continued, "Because it felt right, Ali. You and me, it is what it is."  
She shook her head, "That's all fine and great for you, you've got another conquest under your belt. What does that make me?"  
Alicia knew that he understood, she knew that he knew. The fact that he was silent said it all.  
"What are we?" She said, almost in a whisper.  
Harry placed his hand over hers and interlaced their fingers together, almost as if he hoped that would be enough of an answer for now.  
It wasn't.  
"I turned off my phone. God only knows the messages I'm getting right now." She said, trying to break the silence.  
"They said they were going to edit out the kiss." He said, trying to make her feel at least a bit more at ease.  
She laughed, "As if every person in that audience doesn't have a phone, Harry."  
"Ali?"  
"Yeah?"  
He looked out ahead and saw the stars shining brightly, almost too much so for such a vibrant city, "Don't let me bring you down."  
She looked at him smugly, "You think too highly of yourself, Styles."  
"Then why are you making such a big deal out of this?"  
"I know what it takes to build an image, and what it takes to break it. I don't want to have-"  
"Ruined yours?"  
She stayed silent.  
"You didn't. If anything, you've made your debut."  
"What a debut."  
"An unforgettable one. I mean, James Corden and Harry Styles lauding you on stage? Truly incredible."  
Alicia laughed, "This doesn't mean I forgive you."  
"You don't have to." He shrugged.  
"This will blow over, right?"  
He nodded, "Eventually, yeah."  
"Well, at least I'm not leaving my job here any time soon."  
"This is true, after this week James' is going to have you under lock and key. You're probably going to be getting a lot of offers from some high places." He said wistfully.  
"No way."  
"Ali, look at who you're talking to. Do you know the doors I'm going to have opened for you."  
She stepped on his foot roughly and he yelped, "I WAS JUST JOKING!" He said, rubbing his foot, and attempting to balance himself on one leg.  
Alicia completely ignored him and continued talking as he tried to compose himself, "Well, at least you're kind of right. I can just go back to my job and go under the radar until..."  
"Until?"  
She smirked, "You make another headline."  
"Meaning?"  
"Your next fling?"  
His hand found hers again and within an instant his fingers began tapping nervously on the top of her hand "Alicia?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Just say the word and there won't be a next one."  
"What word?"  
"Don't play coy."  
"It's not that easy."  
"But it is."  
She took pause, but it was for a mere second, "Okay."  
"Yeah?"  
"Let's say I say okay. What does this mean for us?"  
His face fell a tad, but he clearly took what he could get, "It means that when we meet again, it won't take five days to get here." He said, kissing her hand.  
Alicia immediately thought it was the most play-boyish answer she had ever heard. And then she realized, this was the biggest promise he could make right now. But she didn't know if that was enough.  
"Harry?"  
"Hmm."  
"I know we can't do this thing right now, the whole, let's make it official thing. But...I don't know if I can settle for any less."  
Harry smiled, "Fair enough."  
"I just...do you talk to any of your exes?"  
"Wow, out of the blue."  
"Do you?"  
He blushed, "No."  
"I don't want that to happen. I don't want to just be another girl you met, in a city you barely remember." She could see him about to protest, but she held up her finger to stop him, "I'm not saying that's who you are, Harry. But we're what? In our twenties? Let's be realistic. We barely know each other, and I like you. I do. But when I get into something like this, I want to make sure that what we have is solid. I don't want to be pining after you, I don't want to be a wreck because you don't text back. I don't do those things. I want an end game Harry, and I don't think five days is enough to make me think we have that."  
He nodded, "I get it."  
"Do you?"  
"Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to be making any headlines, I'll tell you that right now." She smiled, feeling as if her heart was about to burst, "I want the same thing, Ali. I get it." Harry said, his voice almost a whisper.  
"Okay." She nodded.  
"Okay." He smiled.  
And that was that.  
\---  
Harry wanted to do one last thing before he left. So he set up exactly what Alicia wanted, hoping she'd understand. Their goodbye left so much unsaid, but in the words they didn't say, he believed they said it all.  
Until they met again, he thought, as he closed the door to her office.  
As he walked down the hallway to the parking lot one last time, he realized that the memories that this place once held were no longer sad. In fact, he figured that if he didn't embrace them, they'd always take a hold of him. And he didn't want that.  
He smiled as he took one last look at the studio, remembering his days with the band, trying to ingrain Alicia's searing glare into his mind for later.  
This wasn't it, that was for sure.  
"End game." He whispered to himself, nodding along as he closed the door behind him. "I'll show her."  
"Harry! Come on!"  
He jumped at the sudden boom of her voice across the parking lot, didn't think she would've waited for him.  
But she had.  
"Coming!"  
He figured they'd be alright, and if they weren't, well, they weren't. But who's to say? It had only been five days after all.


	6. Chapter 6

"You ready?"  
It was just like any other day now that Harry had left, but it wasn't at the same time.  
Alicia looked up at Corden and smiled, "Without a doubt."  
One day later and Alicia had taken on the task of pitching some of her archived ideas. She figured it was now or never.   
"Shall I just give up the head of the room to you?"  
"I mean, I'm not saying you shouldn't."  
He laughed, "Alright, get a move on and get those secret folders. Wow me. I'll be waiting in the conference room."  
Alicia nodded as she turned the handle to get into her office. She was going to begin shifting through folders she had already prepared for a moment like this, but noticed something upon her desk.  
"What in the-"  
It was an almost empty chessboard. It was a little worn, obviously from the break room. But it looked as if someone had played to the point where...  
"End game." She whispered, her heart beating wildly, "He wants to be-" She couldn't even finish her sentence. She didn't dare jinx it. Instead she gathered the folder she had marked a while back, knowing exactly what she had to do.  
\---  
"We're heading to England." Alicia said as she began to play a slideshow to the entire staff. She flew through pictures of Big Ben and Buckingham palace, hoping to get them as enthused as she was.   
James tilted his head in confusion, "England?"  
"Think about it." She said, smiling widely, "The golden boy heads back to his native England, bringing his now lauded show with him."  
"English Carpool Karaoke"  
She nodded, "I've already got Ed lined up."  
"No you don't!" James said in utter shock.  
"I do! He's agreed for the 7th of June if we're to do it."  
Milo looked at her questioningly, "So we would be going to England in-?"  
"June. It's just enough time to get permits to film at historic sites, and it's when most of the guest stars are free."  
"Including a certain someone's boyfriend?" Milo said, getting at the whole point of her idea.  
"That's beside the point." She said without letting him get a rise out of her. She knew that's what everyone expected, and she'd be damned if that's what she gave them.  
"I like it." James said nodding. "We've never done anything like this before, no one has."  
"Exactly."  
James stayed quiet for a brief moment, clearly thinking it over.   
Then he stoop up, clapped his hands, and laughed, "Hope everyone's got their passports in order, because we're going to England."  
So not only had Alicia killed her first pitch, but she had managed to ensure that in a few months she'd give Harry as clear a message as he had left her.  
Now if she only had any idea as to how to approach sweeping romantic gestures. Oh well, she had two months to think it over. 

THE END


End file.
